Sweet Child O' Mine
by Babykoalaprincess
Summary: There is always something strange about Zelda Harkinian. It’s not the fact that she’s the most popular girl in Hyrule High and she’s extremely beautiful, but it’s more than that. I’m her tutor, I would know. Zelink Valentine's Day longshot AU.


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_A/N: Please do not read unless you have lots and lots of time. In short, this longshot absolutely sucks, and I tried my best to differ the way I write, but whatever. If you like it, well, God, that's awesome. Leave me a review. Other wise, people who are not fans of Zelink romance, Battle of the Bands, grandmas who give wise advice, rock music, and kids breaking their own stereotypes, please don't bother to read another word.__

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**Sweet Child O' Mine**

**By: Babykoalaprincess (BKP)**

There is always something strange about Zelda Harkinian. It's not the fact that she's the most popular girl in Hyrule High and she's extremely beautiful, but it's _more_ than that. I'm her tutor, I would know. It's as if there are two sides to that girl. One of two is your stereotypical, blonde ditz and the other is an intelligent, mature young lady. It's three thirty in the afternoon. She should be here by now. She's never late for tutoring. Ah, there she is. Coming with one of her other preppy friends, Malon Lon. She blows a bubble of bright, blue bubblegum, and pops it loudly in the library. The librarian, Mrs. Smith, glares at her.

"No gum in the library, Zelda!" She angrily snaps, while sending Zelda her infamous evil eye.

"Sorry, Mrs. S." She spits out the gum in a nearby trashcan as she grins at Malon with her eyes lightly beaming. "So, I was, like, totally thinking that we should, like, hit the mall later, like, this Saturday. I wanna get, like, that nice blue-robin egg colored dress for, like, my birthday soon, you know? What do ya, like, think?"

_'That's Dumb, Stereotypical Blonde Zelda there,'_ I say to myself. I find myself glowering at that idea of what she's doing to herself. It's absolutely ridiculous. The girl is never true to herself.

Malon ponders a bit with her index finger resting under her lips; her eyes looking dumbly up into the lights. She smiles and replies.

"I think that's, like, a totally _awesome_ idea! We should, like, bring some of the other girls on the, like, squad along too! So, give me, like, a call on my cell once you're, like, done with tutoring, okay?"

"Okay!" Zelda replies excitedly in a very high voice and with absolutely no brain at all.

I half-grin at that girl's behavior. Once Malon is fully out of site, her face turns serious and less blank.

"Sorry for the delay, Link. I got caught up in the hallways talking with Mrs. Swan," Zelda says in a normal, deep and more intelligent tone of voice. "So, I received my Trig test back today. I did… well, slightly better than my last test. But, I think I need help with identities, sine, and cosine of some of the angle measures on the unit circle."

'_Now, this is Intelligent, Mature Zelda. Completely different than Dumb, Stereotypical Blonde Zelda.'_ I note in my head, flicking my pen around in my left hand.

"Link, are you okay?" she asks, waving a hand in front of my face.

"What?" I say without thinking.

"You looked out of focus there," she comments before taking out her Trigonometry binder from her backpack.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I briskly say.

I twirl my pen back into a normal, ready handwriting position as I'm ready to help her with any mistakes she made on her Trig test. She hands me the test as I see a 74 circled in red atop of the paper. I carefully look over each problem, carefully looking over at the mistakes that she made. I frown with disappointment. Clearly, she doesn't look over her problems before handing in her test.

"You're making the same mistake here, Zelda. First of all, for all of the word problems, you didn't put the units of measure on them, thus you lost one point on each word problem. The answers are correct, but you just keep on forgetting units of measure. Seriously, Zelda. You've got to remember that the question is not just asking for a number, but specifically what. So it's not just sixteen point four. It's sixteen point four feet squared. Also, you mixed up the some of the identities. Cotangent squared plus secant squared does _not_ equal one. It's supposed to be cotangent squared plus one equal cosecant squared," I explain.

She unwraps another stick of bubblegum when Mrs. Smith looks away from us. As she crumples the foil wrapper in her left hand, she tosses the gum in her mouth, chews, and blows another bubble. It pops.

"Oh, I see now," she replies.

She grabs her backpack and whips out a gel pen with sparkly, blue ink. She marks the corrections carefully, as I notice the serious, focused look on her face. She's completely changed from that other Zelda I know. I watch her make those marks on her paper; she notes down what she did wrong and how to make sure that she doesn't make the same mistake again. For a second, I close my eyes as I think about the other Zelda I hate.

Zelda. Zelda. Zelda. Why do you do this to yourself? Why do you make yourself dumber than you truly are? You're not that much of an idiot like most people think. You're actually pretty talented at every subject and smart.

Zelda Harkinian is the Queen Bee of Hyrule High. Heck, I sometimes wonder why I agreed to tutor her. She's way out of my league for once. She's one of those preppy, cheerleaders who always care about the latest fashion, handbags, cell phones, iPods, and jocks. She flirts with every hot guy on the planet, parties hard, looks down at my circle of friends, and socializes like there is no tomorrow. She is completely different, compared to a geek like me. It is as if we live in two separate worlds.

"Link… Are you alright?" She asks.

I open my eyes. She's leaning over the table to see if there is anything wrong with me. Oh Goddesses. What in the Sacred Realm? Why does she have to look so adorable right there, when she's in her non-ditzy mode and make me blush? With her eyes looking all innocent, child-like and pretty… why, Farore? Why? Do you wish to torture me somehow by placing a pretty girl like Zelda Harkinian in my hands to tutor?

"Nothing. It's nothing," I brush off, hoping she won't pester me about the subject anymore.

This is the Zelda I love. This Zelda… is beautiful. She's amazing. She's soft. Kind. Warm. Gentle like the wind, yet also playful. She's better than that crude, immature Zelda I know. And this Zelda is the one I'm in love with.

"It doesn't seem like it," she comments silently to herself.

Curses! When does that girl not know how to drop a subject? I frown, as I hastily shuffle some papers away in my messenger bag.

"So, how's everything going with Dirk?" I ask, trying to change the subject and be casual around Zelda.

My relationship with Zelda is interesting when she's not around her friends. At times, I find myself being loose around her and treating her as if she's a friend as opposed to a person who I'm tutoring. It may be a mutual feeling because she always tells me how "awesome" I can be at times. We can talk for hours talking about the latest video games, graphics cards, and, heck, even ocarinas! How kick-ass is that? There is this connection between us in which we don't have to worry about being judged by the other person. We're both ourselves. But over this relationship we have… things are the still the same in school. In the hallways, our eyes will meet; but her eyes will always be filled with hatred towards me because of what I am. She shrugs her shoulders.

"Eh, it's alright. He's not doing anything too special for me right now. Especially since V-day is coming around the corner… I wonder what he has up his sleeve," she comments, as I notice she has that light-headed look on her face. She sighs dreamily.

I raise an eyebrow. I never understood why Zelda dated Dirk Kendall anyways. He is some stupid jock who just likes groping Zelda's butt in the hallways, and talks flirtatiously as if he's a grand-daddy who won the lottery. Maybe that's just some jealously speaking out from me, but I seriously don't understand why in the Sacred Realm Zelda would go out with some dope like him. She deserves so much better than that. One could even dub her as a princess if they wanted to. No. Maybe not a princess. Maybe a queen. No, not a queen. A Goddes-

"Link, what are you doing?" she asks.

"Nothing," I reply quickly. My voice is skittish. Oh crap, I hope she doesn't notice this fact. I think she ignores it because she just slowly blows another bubble of her gum and sinks back in her chair. My eyes focus right back on Zelda. That's right. Focus, Link. Focus on Zelda's tutoring needs rather than your hormones. Yes. Focus.

"I also need you to explain this part. I didn't get it," she says, as she leans over and points the section out with her pen.

I shift my eyes downwards to the paper, avoiding as much eye contact with her as possible. And then comes full, frontal view of her bosom. Oh Goddesses. Why? Why must Zelda be wearing that nice, white button-up blouse that shows off her breasts? Why can't she have the decency to cover herself up correctly and not make her a distraction for me? Why, Din, Farore, and Nayru? Why? Maybe I shouldn't be arguing though. Maybe it's a gift _from_ the Goddesses that they give me this opportunity. I wonder what type of bra Zelda is wearing. If I just take a peek, I can see the color of her bra. Slowly, I look at her area. Holy Sacred Realm! I can see the slightest bit of pink…

"You got that?" She pops another bubble from her bubble gum.

"What!?" I ask, startled.

Redness is starting to take over me. Goddesses! Oh damn it. Oh Goddesses _damn_ it! My body feels hot! Especially down there…

"Ah, erm... Okay," I reply nervously.

There is curiosity in her face, showing that she does not believe me. I'm screwed. She places her pen down, and looks at me. Oh Farore, why does Zelda have such beautiful, blue eyes? How I long to just stare at her for hours and not utter a single complaint about any of her flaws! Everything about her is perfect. Her face is nicely heart shaped; her jaw line is just the perfect, small and makes her look like a little doll. I love her golden, blonde hair that seems to shine whenever she flicks it. Every strand seems to be perfectly conditioned, while her eyes are just a beautiful shade of cobalt. Goddesses. Why is she perfection?

"You know, Link… If there's something on your mind, you can always tell me. I'll be sure to listen to you."

I smile, a smile that is out of true happiness. But I know what she says is only a sign of friendship. She's not promising herself to me in any way.

"Thank you, Zelda. But I assure you, I'm fine."

Her eyes look bemused, as she spins her pen around in her hand.

"Is that so?" She questions, unwilling to drop the topic.

'_No, that is not so, Zelda. Frankly, I love you to death. The real you. Why aren't you ever true to yourself? Goddesses. I want you. Just you. Not that stupid, bitch you. And Goddesses, why are you so hot all the time?' _

"Yeah. It is. There's nothing wrong, Zelda. Anyways, let's work on problem number twenty," I say briskly, hoping to change the subject.

"Okay," she replies. I analyze the problem carefully, seeing what she did wrong. Oh yes, she didn't notice the identity she could've pulled out there.

"You didn't notice the identity you could've pulled out. First of all, tangent squared of x times cosine squared of x minus tangent squared of x can easily be pulled out to just to tangent squared of x multiplied by cosine squared of x minus one. Now what does cosine squared of x minus one equal to?"

"Sine squared of x," Zelda replies, blowing another bubble of her bubble gum.

"Right. But what does tangent squared equal?"

"Sine squared of x over cosine squared of x," Zelda responds, nodding her head.

"So the answer is…?"

"Sine to the power of four of x divided by cosine squared of x," she replies happily. She laughs merrily at the fact that she understands what I'm talking about. "I get it! Thanks, Link!"

I grin back. "No problem, Zelda."

I grab some other papers from my messenger bag, as the girl looks at my bag with some interest.

"You should get another bag," she comments.

I raise an eyebrow, as I look back at my bag. It is getting old. The strap is almost ripped into half, even with the duct tape supporting it. There have been a few holes in my messenger bag (much to my displeasure of lost guitar picks) sewn up, but it's wearing down anyways.

"Hmm… Yeah, I guess I should."

"You should write the word: "murse" on the side of your new messenger bag," she declares proudly. She snickers a bit loudly, as if it's some sort of hilarious joke. Another eyebrow is quirked from my brow.

"… Okay?" I ask, confused with what in the Sacred Realm Zelda was talking about.

"Murse," she says again with confidence. "You know… man and purse… Murse? Get it?"

"No," I reply, dim wittingly. It's been a _long_ day for me at Hyrule High. "No, I do not get the whole definition of a- oh wait! Now I get it! But… what in the Sacred Realm, Zelda? What kind of term is that?"

"Oh, Mr. Cullen says that all guys should be chillin' out with their murses!" She laughs, and finally grins. "You know, Mr. Cullen loves to make fun of guys with messenger bags. He thinks it's just so in fashion."

"But Zelda, you know I don't have Mr. Cullen as my English teacher," I reply, wondering with where she's going with this.

"Oh that's right!" She says light heartedly, and she giggles in a ditzy way. "Yeah, sorry about that! I forgot that you were in all Honors classes."

I shake my head. I'm slightly amused with Zelda's behavior just now. Perhaps she's experiencing the same, long drags that I have when it's a Thursday afternoon.

"Whatever. Let's move on, Zelda."

"Uggggghhh… I don't wanna," she whines, as she lays herself down on the surface of the table. Her perfect, blonde hair drapes over her face like a golden veil. I roll my eyes at her behavior.

"Zelda, we have to work. The only way to get better at Trigonometry is that you practice, alright?"

"But I'm stressed, Link. I wanna sleep."

"No," I say. I feel like I'm putting up with a five year old. Am I just some thirty year old stuck in a seventeen year's old body, or what? Maybe I was the first, male babysitter in my past life.

"Yes," she stubbornly argues.

"NO," I say firmly.

"But I've had three quizzes today! I'm stressed out!"

I give her a sympathetic look for a moment.

"Do you know the best way to handle stress, Zelda?" I ask her. She shakes her head, as she closes her eyes. "Get to your cousin Sheik's house and snipe some players down on Live Free or Die Well." She groans in annoyance.

"Or! You could play some Killer Assassination Squad and hook up with a prostitute!" I state ecstatically. She groans louder, clearly wishing that I'd just shut up now.

"You know that I don't get along with Sheik," she replies, a little bit upset.

"That really doesn't seem to be the case."

"Yeah, it is."

"You guys used to be sticking together all the time when you were little."

"That was when I was five, Link."

"I don't understand why you've stopped hanging out with her. What's there you can hate about Sheik? She's one of the coolest chicks I've ever met."

"She cross-dresses," she bitterly states.

"That's because she has identity problems. If you were sexually assaulted when you were seven by a guy who thought you were a boy, you'd be having gender identity problems as well."

"There's a rumor in the school that she's a lesbian."

"She's not a lesbian. She's perfectly straight. She has a crush the guy that lives at the end of your block," I try to explain. She looks up at me, eyes strained from all the life energy she has.

"You mean Roxas?"

"Yeah, that guy. And from what I see… I think he may like her as well."

Her eyes widen with shock.

"That's not legit!" She argues. I can see fury in her face; I know that she doesn't believe me. I remain calm though. I smile before opening my mouth.

"It's totally legit, Zelda. He was checking her out when she came to visit you last week. Believe me, by the way he was acting… Roxas wanted her badly. Anyway, enough chit chat. We gotta get cracking on Trig, remember?" She glares at me for a moment before crossing her arms over her chest and sighing.

"Fine."

"Okay! So, problem number twenty one…" I begin to say. Zelda looks at her watch before I can continue.

"Uh… Link?" She asks when I'm pulling out a fresh, loose leaf notebook paper out of my binder.

"Hmm?"

"It's four o'clock." Damn it. My tutoring session just ends like that. It ends with very little progress between Zelda and I. Why must time fly whenever I'm around her?

"Oh. Okay. Well, I guess you better be going off to cheerleading," I comment, hastily putting the papers back in my binder.

"Yeah… So what do you plan to do for Valentine's day?"

"Me? Puke my guts out at every mushy couple I see and hopefully, I'll be puking enough to have my vomit get on their clothes." Zelda's fake side would probably say: "Ewwww… You're gross, Link!", but Zelda just smiles.

"No, seriously. What are you doing?"

"I don't know… There's a girl I like, but it'll never work out with her," I tell her casually. I see Zelda's mind and body pricking up as she hears that.

"Really? Who's this girl, Link? Oh come on, you absolutely _must_ tell me! I promise that I won't tell her or anything. I'm just curious!"

"No. Really. You should stay out of it. You really won't help if I tell you," I say, depressed.

"Why not?"

'_Because I like you, Goddesses damn it. Can I really say that to you without you rejecting me? No. I can't. And even if you wouldn't reject me, I wouldn't say it. I'm just a pathetic, gamer chicken-wuss after all.'_

"I just can't," I begin to explain. "I just can't have anyone help me. It's… a distant love, you could say. It's never supposed to be. It was never supposed to work, okay? Let's just leave it at that."

Zelda nods her head, as if she understands. Although, I think she doesn't. "Alright, I got ya, Link." She slings one strap of her backpack before smiling again.

"Just remember to use protection once you get to shag her."

Yep, that girl clearly doesn't understand. I feel as if I'm ready to just strangle something. Oh Goddesses, yes. It's been a _really_ long day at Hyrule High.

"… Thanks, Zelda. I'll be sure to remember that when I go around screwing girls and I can't keep my dick in my pants," I reply sarcastically and crudely.

"Oh, I knew you would!" She exclaims, a little bit too happy. Is she high on caffeine or something? Seriously. Her dumb self is starting to kick back in at the right moment. She still just smiles at me in an overly happy way as she makes her way to the exit of the school library.

"Good luck with your Battle of the Bands competition!" She shouts at me as Mrs. Smith hisses at her to be quiet.

I roll my eyes at her ditzy behavior once again as I finally rest myself in the chair. Mrs. Smith hovers around me as if she's some sort of small, blue fairy, telling me that I can't sleep in the library because she's soon closing it for the day. Oh Farore… this has been one of the longest days of my life.

* * *

"So, are you psyched about next Wednesday?" A voice asks excitedly at my locker in the next morning.

I shut the blue, locker door as I face the person who was talking to me. It's Saria with her eyes beaming in happiness. An unusual brightness for the girl. I smile. It's Friday. Thank Goddesses. I've been waiting for this day all week.

"Heck yeah, I am!" I reply.

Saria smiles at me. Her green hair is styled into two pig tails. Her nose ring glitters off from the florescent lights, and I see her bottom lip tugging at her lip piercing. She walks down the hallways with me, black attire fluttering against the air. Her earrings are two glittery skulls and crossbones in each ear hole. There's fresh black eyeliner she smudged on from early in the morning.

If there's anything I love about my best friend, it's gotta be everything. Saria Evergreen is a girl you don't want to mess with. First of all, she's got a large ambition. So large, that she could smack you with it, and make you look weak and pathetic. Secondly, she's smart as the Goddess Nayru. The girl is taking at least three AP courses. And she's only a junior. Thirdly, you don't want to mess with misunderstood, dark people. You really don't, because all they'll do is just prove how much worth they are and how important they are compared to you. Fourthly, her ambition is big, but she has a perfect balance of reality and dreams to make sure her head isn't too swelled up with ego.

"Man, I can't believe it. I worked over six hours on my English essay. What in the Sacred Realm?" She curses. She waves the paper in the air before I snatch it from her.

"A ninety-five. So?" I ask as I hand it back to her.

"So!" She objects before she continues. "So! It's because I could've gotten a_ hundred_ on my essay, Link! I want a freakin' _hundred_ on my essay!"

"Isn't that a bit too much to ask from Mrs. Ante? I mean, it's miracle that I get only a B plus on her essays, but an A plus, Saria? Isn't that too much?" I state curiously as I'm heading off to fourth period. We both stride down the clean hallways of Hyrule High with everyone scurrying around before classes begin. Saria ponders over the idea a bit before answering.

"No."

I raise another eyebrow. "Seriously, Ante treats us as if we're in college."

"But we're juniors! She's only preparing us for the real world!" Saria exclaims. Her face shades down to a depressing look. "Oh, speaking of the real world… I don't think I'll ever get into Harvard with only an A on my essay."

"Isn't Harvard too much?"

"No."

"Well, then how about Hyrule Institute of Technology? I mean, you're really good at math and science, Saria."

"… That could work out!" she exclaims happily. I smile at her rejuvenated behavior.

"Just be sure to not kill yourself."

"Oh, come on, Link! You'd think that I'd kill myself over the stress and pressure over there? Seriously. You gotta be kidding when you say that you want me to get all depressed and shit about something stupid like a mere A minus at HIT," she replies as she unwraps a fresh, new stick of mint gum. She pops the gum loudly throughout the hallways, and several people in the hallways glare at her with annoyance for doing so. She smirks with delight knowing that she pissed some sluts off in the school. She grins when she sees her boyfriend, Mido Livers.

"Heya, Mido!" She says as she plants a kiss on his cheek. He does the same before grinning at her.

"Hey, Saria. How was English?"

"Fine. Ante gives back our essays. I got an A," she replies, hooking her arm around Mido's as they walk down the hall together. "We also discuss about the poem we read last night."

Mido nods his head, "Cool. Awesome job, Saria! Heya, Link. How is your day so far? Oh my Goddesss, dude! Did you see the new updates for that new game? Adam & Eve?"

Mido Livers is a strange person. Like me, he's a complete, middle-sized nerd standing at five foot seven. He's totally into stripped computers, hardcore video gaming, and girls who wear panties with HTML on it. It's funny because when we were in grade school we didn't get along. He was some short-haired redheaded guy with green eyes and freckles who liked to blow up every once in a while about something silly. Like when you stole his blocks in k-grade. It was finally when we both matured, we found out that we had the same interests. And Goddesses damn it; he wears the best geeky shirts compared to me. He is currently wearing a shirt with a design that says: "Geek Inside" similar to the Intel logo compared to my shirt with the caffeine molecule structure on it.

"I know! It looks really kick-ass. I think that this will be the best fighter game in history," I reply.

Saria peers over Mido to speak to me, "How would you know, Link? You haven't played the game yet. It's only going to be released in six months."

"Yes, but... Saria! The fighting combat looks so cool, not to mention the graphics are_ amazing_ and the character's moves? Did you see Adam's? He does this weird sword twirl thingy where he spins it around, jumps up in the air, and SLICES the opponent!" I exclaim, completely outraged to see that Saria does not understand the holy awesomeness of Adam & Eve. She doesn't say anything, instead she gives me a look which says: _'Link, you're fucking crazy and take some crazy pills.' _

"… What? Saria! Seriously. I swear to the Goddesses, there are games that don't even look that awesome compared to Adam & Eve!" I exclaim.

Mido jumps in to hopefully save the day. Or at least, tries to. "Saria, sweetie, I'll give you a pretty diamond if you just be quiet and agree with us now that Adam & Eve looks like the best game of the year in Hyrule all the way to the Twilight Country and back."

"Whatever. You guys are so weird. I'm not talking to you anymore, Mido. You better make it up to me on V-day or I'll ditch you for Lulu."

"But Lulu has Mikau!" Mido argues, clearly confused with what Saria is implying.

"So? Chicks before dicks, Mido. I was with Lulu waaaaay before you, dude. I'm sure I can win my Lulu back any time," she states before heading off to fourth period. "I'll see you guys at lunch, right?"

We both nod before she waves to us. Mido sighs deeply before facing me and continuing our conversation. He and I walk down the hallways to Pre-Calculus Honors downstairs below us. People are slowly disappearing from the halls, but we both know that Mr. Tingle doesn't mind us being late for a couple of minutes. He's a perfectly friendly teacher who never blows up in your face about something silly. Even when you throw a paper ball at him behind his back.

"Man, don't tell Saria this, but erm… Well, I haven't been planning anything specific for her for Valentine's Day."

I let out a little surprised laugh, "Are you serious? Oh man, Mido. You're going to really get it if you don't get your act up quickly. Saria will kill you if you don't do something. Maybe you could buy her a rose from student council?"

"Nah, that's too cheesy! Besides, Saria is treasurer, right? She's BOUND to find out that I've bought her a rose for Valentine's Day!"

"How about serenading? Take up your acoustic and serenade to her on Valentine's Day," I suggest, shrugging my shoulders. He gives me a blank look as I can see that is definitely a rejected idea from me.

"That's just… NO. Corny. No way am I serenading to Saria. It's not like I'm a castrati and I have the loveliest voice on earth, Link!" Mido exclaims. He groans loudly, for he is clearly upset that he is doomed on the fourteenth of February. "I'm really going to get it if I don't do something with Saria."

"How about you guys watch Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind at your house?" I suggest again, before believing that Saria is definitely like Kate Winslet's character and Mido is like Jim Carrey. Mido ponders over the idea, carefully going over it, and then finally agrees. He nods his head in agreement.

"Yeah, that could work out. …Yeah! You know what? I think I'll convince my mom to make a heart-shaped funnel cake, and I'll decorate it with whipped cream and say: "I love you, Saria. I'm yours only," Mido replies, as he takes a minute to gasp in his ingeniousness for a Valentine's Day celebration. "The only problem is that we'll probably have homework. I mean, Valentine's Day is a Thursday, right?"

"I'm sure you'll be able to figure something out… You always do, Mido," I reply, before we both head to our doom to take a Pre-Calculus test. Goddesses, this has been another long day. Stress is something that I can never shake off in Hyrule High.

* * *

After the day is done, I love playing on my Z-Cube with complete concentration. My eyes are focused on the television screen, as my fingers gracefully, yet forcefully make the commands I want. I am in control. I am in control of everything, I press the buttons to make sure that the character I am is obeying me. I am the hero of the day in this game. I feel as if I'm the one who can be the hero for once. And all this time I've been a coward, I can finally act without having to deal with those blasting emotions.

I hear the blasted phone ringing, as Aryll screams that she'll get it. She's probably expecting a call from Colin Hollands, since I heard that young freshie has got the hots for her. Colin is a nice boy, very timid, but he seems to have a lot of potential. Aryll enters the room, as I'm still concentrating on the game. I can see her walking towards me with the black, cordless phone in her hand out of the corner of my eye. She says something to me:

"Link, it's for you."

"Yeah?" I ask into the phone as I balance the cordless phone between my cheek and my left shoulder. Aryll retreats back to whatever she was doing because she is clearly upset to see that Colin hasn't called her yet.

"LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNKKKK!! I'M GOING TO FREAKIN' KILL YOU! HOW DARE YOU LEAVE ME ALL ALONE ON THE Z-CUBE LIVE?! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU! WHY!? NOW I HAVE MEN ALL OVER ME BECAUSE I'M A CHICK!!" A voice screams at me. I pause Life-Hazard for a moment, and pull the phone an arm length away from my ear.

"Ruto?" I ask, concerned it's Lulu's twin sister.

"YES! IT'S ME! LINK! HOW CAN YOU DO THIS!? JUST WHEN I NEED TO FEND OFF THOSE LEECHEROUS MEN ON LIVE FREE OR DIE WELL!! WHY?! WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME!? THEY ARE HARASSING ME!!"

"Lulu, calm down," I say, un-pausing Life-Hazard and resume the game. I have a good feeling that I can juggle these two tasks rather well. Besides, Ruto isn't going to really ask me to do anything other than to listen to her problems since I'm the one who can tolerate her best when she's in hysterics.

"I. AM. NOT. LULU!! I AM RUTO, FOR GODDESSES' SAKE! LINK, YOU'VE KNOWN ME FOR OVER SEVEN YEARS! YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT I LOOK NOTHING LIKE LULU!! WE ARE NOT IDENTICAL TWINS!!" She screams at me again. Oh Goddesses, I'm really going to get it now. I mixed her name with Lulu's. That's one of Ruto's personal pet peeves.

"Gargh!" I scream, seeing that the main character, William, has just lost some health due to shooting several enemies at once. Stupid minions. Why the fuck do they have to attack me when I'm multitasking?

"LINK!"

"Okay, Ruto, calm down," I command to her, hoping that Zoran girl will just stop screaming for once!

"LINK! THEY ARE ASKING ME HOW BIG MY BOOBS ARE!! FEND THEM OFF!"

I groan. Ruto really needs to set the line straight with those random guys on the Z-Cube Live. I hate pretending to be her "fiancé who was specially trained in the CIA and has a black belt in at least five different forms of martial arts", as she puts it. I admire Ruto Atlantis because her serious attitude towards video gaming, but I admit I'm afraid of her. She's a robust girl with strong arms and legs, and really pale skin that seems to glow like the silver waters at night of Lake Hylia. She's got a fierce temper which is why you never want to mess with her. She's very cute for a female, hardcore video gamer geek. A lot guys would find her hot, even if they didn't know that she games regularly. Completely unlike her twin who is meek and gentle. Lulu Atlantis is extremely artistic and has nice long, wavy hair. Ruto has short, layered hair making her look more: "cute". Not to mention, her hair is more bluish while Lulu's is more of a violet tone. If Ruto was the ocean, Lulu would be a brook or a stream. Both Ruto and Lulu are from high Zora descendant.

She screams and curses at me once more. Goddesses. She's flaring up at me again. The only reason why I've agreed to do pretend to be Ruto's "fiancée" was because Lulu and Mikau would have really had it out for me if I didn't do it. I try my best to get comfortable in my black, leather bean bag in front of my family's flat screen TV.

"Okay, okay, okay! I got it, Ruto. I'm on it. I'll be on in a few minutes. I think I know where you are," I say calmly before I hear Ruto sobbing hysterically over the phone. By the looks of it, she sounds as if she's an eighty year old woman who is crying over the death of her beloved cat. Goddesses. The girl needs to take a deep breath!

"Ruto! Calm down. Nothing bad is going to happen to you. Seriously. These guys are just jerks, and they just think they are going to "get some". Ruto, the worst they can do to you is stalk you."

She sobs even harder, as if the sky itself is falling down upon her. Farore! Why in the Sacred Realm won't she calm down? Doesn't the girl have self-control over herself and her nerves?

"Ruto Atlantis! Take a deep breath! I'm coming, okay? I'll see on the Z-Cube Live," I explain to her. I hear her weeping tone down a bit as she starts to slowly hyperventilate a bit. Still bad, but better than sobbing over nothing.

"Okay," she says softly before she hiccups. "Ich! Okay… Okay… Alright. I'll see you on there."

I grin over the phone to see that I've helped her calm down. I've always wondered how calm, serene Lulu has dealt with her loud, emotional twin sister. Both are completely opposite, yet they are two of a kind and understand each other very well.

"Alright. See ya."

"Link?" She asks, before I hang up.

"Yeah?"

"Please do me the favor of telling Zelda that you love her on Valentine's Day."

I say nothing because I really am starting to hate Ruto for telling me this over and over again. I really don't understand what her point is. She clearly doesn't understand my situation here. It's completely different than what she thinks it is. I'm a coward at heart, I admit that. Even if I had the guts, I still wouldn't tell Zelda. It's just impossible. It would never work out. Zelda would be better off dating some sexy, Elizabeth & Jack model who could support her until she gets Alzheimer's.

"DO IT! You know she wants to hear it!" She argues with me, frustrated to see I haven't done anything.

"I'll talk to you later about this, alright? Now is not a good time," I say, trying to dodge any further discussion about this specific topic.

"LINK IRVING! YOU WILL ACT ON YOU FEET TOWARDS ZELDA! OR EVERYONE IN OUR CIRCLE OF FRIENDS WILL KILL YOU!"

Goddesses damn it. Does Ruto have PMS twenty-four seven or what? Why does everyone care? For the most part, everyone in our circle of friends has either a girlfriend or boyfriend except for Ruto, Japas, Ilia, Midna, and me. But that's all going to change very soon because Japas told me that he likes Ruto and that he's taking the whole cheesy way of telling her that he likes her by sending her a rose from student council. Ilia and Midna don't wish to have a boyfriend. Mainly because Midna likes scaring off boys because she's just fed up with all of their desires that most of them have at Hyrule High. Not to mention, she likes protecting Ilia from all them. Sweet, old Ilia. She's really an innocent girl and Midna likes protecting her from any harmful "predators" in Choir class.

"I'm leaving, alright? I'll see you later tomorrow. I've got band practice soon with your twin, your twin's boyfriend, Japas, and other peeps," I say before I press the "End Talk" button on the phone.

It's perfect timing because Ruto can't scream another word at me. I place the phone down on the floor besides me as I sigh. As much as I want to admit that Ruto is right when she says that she wants me to confess to Zelda, I know it will never work out. She doesn't accept herself first. And as far as I'm concerned… I'll only date girls who are comfortable with their own skin before I do anything towards Zelda Harkinian.

* * *

"You're late," a voice casually says before I hit the "lock" button on my car keys. I step past the garage door of Japas house.

It's a decent place. Decorated with lighted paper, colored lanterns and some boxes filled with random magazine from the 70's and 80's. It was over a year ago when Japas suggested that we practice our band at his garage, as opposed to the music room at school, because Goddesses know that the band director was getting pissed to hear Saria and Lulu scream their lungs out on mics.

"Hey, I was helping your twin fend off some perverts on the Z-Cube Live, okay?"

Lulu smiles for a moment as she tries to do her best to hold her laughter in. Clearly, Lulu is somewhat eviler than her twin because she takes such delight in seeing me facing obstacles of guys who want to talk to a random girl on the Z-Cube Live just because she's a chick.

"Hah. Let me tell you this though, Mum and Dad were upset at Ruto again for taking those sort of things way too seriously. They said if those creeps on the Z-Cube Live were so creepy, Ruto should just stop playing. She refused though. Goddesses, I don't understand what's with Ruto and that game," Lulu bitterly states, as she plugs in the mic to a jack.

"Yeah, well, Ruto is hardcore. I like playing against her. It's fun. She's a challenge like your boyfriend. By the way, where is Mikau anyway?" I ask, noticing the very empty garage with only Lulu and I.

"Mikau is inside talking with Japas about something. I don't know what. Probably some programming thing that Japas discovered today." She shrugs, as she flips her long, dark hair over her shoulder and taps her foot impatiently.

"Where's Saria?" I ask, noticing that the greenhead has never been late for band practice. Lulu shrugs again.

"I don't know. I think she said she was running late due to a student council meeting today after school. I feel bad for her. She's got all of those roses to deliver on Thursday to some random kids and stuff," Lulu comments before she blows another bubble.

"Yeah, sucks for her," I comment as my eyes shift to a box of old toys.

"Have you told Zelda yet?" Lulu asks rudely, changing the topic so suddenly. I look up at her for a moment, eying her curiously to see if Ruto has told her anything.

"I over heard Ruto screaming at you on the phone," she explains as I half grin at the statement.

"Yeah, well… As you know, I don't ever plan to tell Zelda my feelings," I state hastily as I tune my guitar, hoping that Lulu will just leave me alone for once.

"Why not?" She pesters me on. My Goddesses! First Ruto, now Lulu. Why does everyone want me to tell the Queen of Hyrule High how I feel?

"Because! I already explained to each and every one of you. Okay, one, I don't have guts to do so. Two, it's just impossible. It'd be like me waking up one morning and deciding that I wanted to go to the moon and back and hack onto NASA," I say before I notice the glowering look that Lulu has.

"Is that so?"

"Yes, that is very much so!" I exclaim. "Goddesses! Why don't you guys get it? I mean… Just… This is Zelda Harkinian we are talking about! Everyone knows that she has connections to the Royal Family and she is a possible heir to her father's cooperate company! What girl can't top that? She's almost a Goddesses-damned princess!"

Lulu shrugs. "You know… I never thought that my older brother, Evan, would've ever gotten into Hyrule University's Music Department considering the grades he got at Hyrule High, but…he did. Now he's performing a lot of classical movements using not only the piano, but the keyboards as well. Life is strange like that, Link. You never know what will happen. You just gotta take a risk, kick back, and see what happens," she says before popping another bubble of her gum. She stops chewing for a moment before she has this blank look on her face.

"Shit. That would be a kick-ass song to write. 'You just gotta take a risk, kick back, and see what happens.' Dude, we totally gotta write some stuff like that for a song! That'd be awesome."

I slowly roll my eyes. "So? It's still not going to work out. I mean, I think it just may be a crush," I lie. Goddesses, I hope that Lulu will just stop venturing into my love life like some crazy, nosy chick.

"Hah. Are you serious, Link? You think it's only a "crush"?"

"… Yeah. Why wouldn't it be? I mean… Zelda has a nice bod, and… yeah. She's every guy's ideal girl."

"Oh really? Well, that's strange. I always thought that you said that you liked Zelda's personality of watching movies with blood and gore in them. You know? Cheesy, old horror movies made back in the 60's, 70's, and 80's. You also said how much you just loved her inner self than her outer self."

I feel my cheeks flush. What in the Sacred Realm? Can't Lulu just talk something else about Zelda that does not make me feel embarrassed?

"Yeah. That's part of my crush, anyways," I say hastily. I hate myself for getting into this discussion of a mess as it already is. Either way, it's futile. She's going to pester me on about it. And it's clear, physical proof because Lulu just smirks in delight.

"I think not."

"I think so."

"I think not more than you do in a million years."

"Okay, Lulu. I'm going to leave if you don't stop it," I threaten, knowing the band will kill her if I walk out on them at the last minute of practice.

"Alright, cool. Fine. I'll stop," she promises. But she smirks, and I fear what she'll say next. "Just remember Link, you're not that much of a coward as you think."

"What's this about Link being a coward?" A voice interjects, sounding similar to Saria's. I spin around; my predictions are correct. It is Saria. Her green hair is wet like green seaweed from the pond, proving that she was probably showering before she came here. She looks very fresh, like fully bloomed flowers in the spring, with her face and everything clean.

"Sorry that I'm late. I was getting myself ready for band practice straight after the student council meeting was over. I'm really sorry, guys," she apologizes as she lets out a small, nervous laugh, embarrassed at her actions. I smile happily at her.

"No worries, Saria. Lulu and I weren't doing that much. We were just talking about… random stuff," I finish. I'm reluctant to Saria what Lulu and I were discussing.

The last thing I need right now is to have Saria and everyone else in the band egg me on about how I have to confess my "undying love" to Zelda. Why can't they just see that I'll never be able to do it? I know that even if I try, I'll choke it up and never be able to tell her. I don't have enough courage to do it. Even most five year olds have more courage than I do. I'm just a scaredy-cat for life. Not once have I ever been able to stick up for someone, let alone, myself. So why should I somehow find the courage to do so? And this isn't my stubborn side talking. I'm serious about this.

"Saria, Link and I were talking about how he should confess to Zelda for Valentine's Day," Lulu reports.

I hope the Goddesses damn you by turning you into a Redead, Lulu Atlantis. Why? Why must you always meddle in my affairs with absolutely impossible quests only to tell them to someone else? I notice that Saria's lip ring tugs upwards and she seems delighted in this fact.

"Whoah. Seriously? Link, if you did confess to Zelda, that would be totally wicked."

"Saria, I thought you hated Zelda Harkinian," I say, hoping that she'll find a reason to back off. I know the greenhead is more judgmental when it comes to her peers compared to most kids. The greenhead shrugs nonchalantly before she gives me another grin.

"Yeah, I did. But that's all the past now. Now that you've explain me how cool Zelda can be, I guess I've learned to not really judge her that much," Saria explains with another shrug. "Besides, you do have a point when you say that I don't really know Zelda that well." Damn Saria for her current non-judgmental ways!!

"Hey guys! What are you dudes talking about?" A voice of Japas interrupts as I hear the door slam.

When I turn around, I see that Japas and Mikau have emerged from Japas's house and into the garage. Japas has a large grin on his face, as I note that his medium length hair is pulled back in a small, stubby ponytail. How unusual for the normal, hard-core rocker. Mikau also emerges with his hair all long and scraggly. They both grin with beamed faces. I honestly wish that Saria and Lulu won't anything. If they do, Japas and Mikau will say how I seriously need to get a love life or get laid. And we're guys, Goddesses-damn it! We're not some new sort of breed of females!

"Nothing. Let's just get band practice rollin' now," I quickly snap before taking up the guitar strap and getting myself in a readying position. I rummage around my front pocket for a guitar pick. As soon as I find one, I grab it and ready myself. I plug in a cord into my guitar and flip the "ON" switch of the amp. I walk up front, ready to rock n' roll.

"Well?" I ask as I look back at my fellow band members, who are all the way in the back of Japas garage and not readying themselves. They roll their eyes at me as they slowly shuffle themselves up front and get themselves ready. Japas picks up his bass, Mikau picks up his guitar, Lulu readies herself on drums, and Saria picks up the microphone.

"Ready?" The girl of Kokiri descent asks. I nod my head, as everyone else does. "1. 2. 3."

I begin to shred my guitar with a familiar tune as Mikau takes up my lead. Saria bobs her head in motion of the beat. And Lulu starts to go crazy on the drums. Saria finally places the mic near her mouth and begins to sing:

"_Tell me where our time went, and tell me if it was time well spent,_" she sings the first line with clear, precise timing.

I close my eyes as I feel myself being carried away with the music. Nobody in Hyrule understands how good this feels, except for Lulu, Mikau, Japas, and Saria. It's feels so wonderful to get all of that stress out of your body. It's like the music is carrying off onto a cloud. Or it's as if you're floating in water only to be drifting off by the slow current of a river.

"_Some things I'll never know… And I had to let them go…_" Saria angelically sings before her eyes close.

We pause, giving that small second to rest. Saria inhales sharply before continuing. I pluck the strings of my guitar with my pick, and we continue to perform the hardcore smashing of rock. My fingers press down hard on the guitar strings, and my fingers start to feel somewhat clumsy as I mess up the last measure before I pluck the last the note on my guitar. The sound rings out through Japas garage before Saria frowns and sets down her mic. Mikau gives me a lop-sided grin.

"Dude, play that last measure again. I thought you had it down, Link," he tells me.

"Yeah, so did I," I say before picking up my pick again.

I begin the last measure of the song again as I feel myself uneasy with it. Goddesses. I know the whole song by heart, just… the last measure of the song gives me nerves and I don't understand why. It's fairly simple. I close my eyes, before I just let it out. The last note rings out through my amp again before I open my eyes. I face Mikau to see that his face is somewhat pleased.

"Okay. Link, be sure that you don't mess up that part. You were fine just now, but remember to take it easy, alright? We don't wanna mess up tomorrow's competition," he says to me as I nod.

"Got it. Don't worry. I think after practicing it several times, I've got it down. Guys, don't worry about it. I think we'll be fine tomorrow," I say with a grin.

"You sure?" Mikau asks.

"Yeah, I'm totally positive," I declare with another confident grin. "Besides, we've also got "Sweet Child O' Mine" down as well, right?"

Mikau nods his head. "Yeah. We do. Well, if we feel that we don't really need to practice tonight on anything major, then we should pack up early."

He and I both grin for a moment; we both know that we'll be fine for the competition tomorrow.

"Okay then. If you guys don't mind, I'll be off to get to bed early," I explain with a grin. They smile back at me as I quickly pack things up.

"Man, Lulu, I swear, if Mido doesn't do anything for me tomorrow, I'm SO going to fucking kill him," Saria says as I un-strap the guitar and fold it neatly into my guitar case.

"Hah, I hear you. And I swear that someone special doesn't give me something tomorrow, I might throw a hissy fit just as well," Lulu comments loudly as she sends a threatening glare to Mikau. The male Zora obviously notices this look because he anxiously faces back at Japas and gives him a nervous gulp.

"Now, if only someone who's name rhymes with "clink" will confess to someone special…" Lulu trails off. I shut the guitar case really loudly to let everyone know I'm still here. They all jump. I stand up and face Lulu in the eye. This time, Lulu has gone too far. I feel that I can't help, but set the stupid line straight. When will she ever fucking realize what this is? Reality is something that Lulu clearly doesn't understand.

"FYI, Lulu, I am perfectly happy with being single. I don't need anyone for Valentine's Day," I state bitterly. I honestly think that Lulu needs to really stop poking her nose in places in which is not needed. "No offense, Lulu, but I'd really appreciate it if you'd stop meddling in my love life and just care about your own life for Goddesses' sake. I don't have courage. I was never born with it. Please do me the favor of stop acting as if I have the guts to take Zelda Harkinian on a date."

I end that small speech with a fake, plastic smile like one of those at the end of a cheesy commercial that sells pizza. Lulu and Saria stare in awe at me for being such an asshole as Japas and Mikau smirk at me for my behavior. I quickly dig the car keys out of my pocket, unlock the door, and silently drive back home. Goddesses. This has been one fight of a day.

* * *

"Back so soon?" a voice asks as I enter in the back door into the kitchen.

My eyes shoot upwards as I find that Gran has come back home early. She smiles at me, a gentle look on her face, as she places some dishes away in the dishwasher. I can see that she's almost ready to go to bed because she's already dressed herself in full, pink pajamas and a purple bathrobe with her hair set in curls.

"Yeah," I respond before taking off my jacket. She grins at me back again.

"How was band practice?" She inquires without looking up. She quickly rinses another plate from the sink and delicately places it into the dishwasher. I shrug as if it nothing happened today before responding. I hang up my coat near the coat hanger as my mind keeps on wandering back to Zelda.

"Eh, it was… alright."

"Hmmm. Something in that tone of voice makes me think that you're lying to me, Link."

"No way, Gran. I'm fine."

One of the reasons why I like Grandma is the fact that she can always read me perfectly. But it's a part of her in which I don't like. Especially if I want to be left alone. Besides, Gran is the one I'm closest with if you don't count Aryll. My Grandma is very strong woman. Even though she's only about seventy years old, she still works hard at a nearby factory to make sure that we have enough money to support us. It is because of Grandma, I have the motivation to work hard and vow to myself that I will get into Hyrule University at all costs.

"Anyway, Gran, where is Aryll?" I say as I open the refrigerator door. Grabbing a carton of milk, I pause until I hear a response.

"I'm right here, Link," Aryll's voice replies. I look around to see where my sister is until I close the refrigerator door.

"GARGH!!"

"Sorry, Link. Didn't know I'd scare you like that," she replies as she waves at me.

"What? Why were you hiding behind the fridge door?" I ask, completely speechless to see Aryll randomly pop up out of no where. Aryll furrows her eyebrows at me, giving me an evil eye. I take a closer look at Aryll to see that she's dressed in a sleep tank top and shorts. Goddesses. What in the Sacred Realm? Why is she wearing so little when it's winter?

"I didn't scare you, Link. You were just so unobservant and didn't notice that I was in the kitchen all along. Anyway, I'm going to bed now. Night, Gran. Link," she says before yawning and leaving the kitchen. I sigh heavily as I fetch some chocolate chip cookies out of the cookie jar. Gran speaks to me once more again as I get a plate out from the cupboard.

"So, Link. What are you doing on Valentine's Day?" she asks as she pours some hot water in a thermal. I shrug again.

"I don't know. I think I'm just going to pine myself away about this girl I like," I state, before realizing that I'm actually being honest with someone here. I chomp off a bit of my cookie, as I heavily chew the cookie.

Aside from telling Zelda this, I can't believe that I'm actually telling Gran about my love life. I always worry about how Gran will react if I tell her that I like this girl at school. For some reason, I get this feeling that she'll get overexcited, become very silly, and try to plot out something. However, Gran remains calm and doesn't say anything embarrassing or cheesy. Weird.

"I see," she states before looking me in the eye.

"Yeah," I respond, taking an empty stool and seating myself down at green countertop in the center of the kitchen. I bite into a chocolate chip cookie, the taste of it savoring in my mouth as I chew.

"Is this the Zelda Harkinian girl I've heard about?" She asks.

I wouldn't have almost choked on that cookie if Gran hadn't been so Goddesses damned right. Feeling the need of air, I cough and sputter out some bit of chocolate chips all over the plate I have before gulping down a long slurp of milk. As I finally calm back to my normal state, Gran has a questioning look on her face.

"Well? Is it?"

I say nothing. I don't want Gran also prying into my love life! Why does everyone care for Goddesses' sake?! Then again, Gran can't do anything about this situation. Unlike Lulu, Mido, Mikau, Saria, Japas, Ilia, Midna, and every friend in my group, Gran doesn't see Zelda in school or anything. I'm safe to tell her anything.

"Yeah, it is."

I see the wrinkles in Gran's face crease upwards. "I thought so."

"Yeah? Well, how did you know?" I ask.

"Because I'm just powerful like the Three Goddesses," she states before she laughs heartily. I raise an eyebrow.

"Uh… Seriously? I don't think so, Gran."

"Ahaha! I may not be powerful, but I know my grandchildren very well, Link," she explains. "I've been taking care of you since you were four, remember?"

"Yeah, that's true," I admit. "You've been taking care of us ever since Mom and Dad died."

"Yes, Link. Yes, I have," Gran agrees with me. She smiles at me once again. I say nothing again for a moment as I feel the silence between Gran and I coming in. Our eyes both shift around the kitchen; what can a grandmother say to her grandson now? It's so quiet in my house that I can hear the Cucco clock ticking softly.

"So," she begins before setting a hand on the counter and looking at me. "Are you not doing anything for this special lady friend of yours?"

"Oh me? … Nah. I know that even if I tell Zelda how I feel she won't accept me. She's just your average, pretty popular girl that every boy in school adores. All the guys, who have the guts to ask her, are turned down. She's attracted to Dirk Kendall anyway."

"Dirk Kendall… I think I've heard of that name before," Gran comments to herself.

"Yeah. He's the son of that asshole of the school. You know. His father. The principal of the school," I explain before shifting my eyes around again.

"Oh yes! Him. Yes, his father is quite a loudmouth," Gran tells me. I raise my eyebrows.

"How do you know?"

"Because I was his Medieval Hylian History teacher."

I almost spit out all of the milk I was just chugging down. What in the Sacred Realm? Is this even legit? That can't be possible! Mr. Kendall, that stupid fucking asshole who doesn't discipline his son properly, was a student of my Grandma!? With effort, I swallow the milk before continuing.

"... Grandma, are you sure?"

She smiles at me once again. She has that wise look on her again. That look in which that basically tells anyone that she's wiser than you think. It gives me a gloating feeling from her, but then again, it just makes her seem more kick-ass than she already is.

"Yes. I am very sure, Link. Don't ever doubt your grandma. Anyway, back to what we were talking about. Why not, Link? Why don't you go after her?"

I stare at her words for a moment, before replying. "Oh, Zelda? Well, like I said, it's impossible between us. I don't have courage, Gran. It's just impossible for me overall to muster up the courage to tell her. You've seen me attempting to give a speech, Gran. I always mess up. My hands get sweaty, my throat feels tight, and my heart starts racing like a jackhammer. I stutter on words, look down at my feet, and just… blank out. I always mess up because I don't have courage."

"Is that what you really think of yourself, Link?" Gran questions me with a look of disbelief, disappointment, and a ton of other emotions written on there. Just looking at Gran like that makes me feel a heavy weight in my stomach. Why do I feel ashamed of her asking me stuff like this?

"Yeah," I reply before looking down at my half-empty glass of milk.

"I really don't think that, Link."

"Oh yeah?" I ask with a scoff. "I know I'm a natural born coward, Gran."

"That's not true. You can always build courage. Courage is something that you're born with, Link. It's something that you have to search for yourself and find the will to do it."

I don't reply to what she's saying because I feel like I should be disagreeing with her right here and now about this; but I don't know what to say.

"She's become so beautiful now," Gran murmurs to herself, softly.

"What?"

"Aryll."

"Oh," I say, confused.

"Aryll has become so beautiful now," she repeats again.

"That's great to know, Gran," I say with some sort of sarcasm to it.

"No, Link. You don't understand. Aryll has become _truly_ beautiful," Gran says again.

I roll my eyes. I don't understand why Gran is repeating the same thing over and over again. Maybe Gran is just starting to turn senile. Poor Gran. "Yes, I know, Gran. You told me that already."

"No. Link, you really don't understand, now do you?" She tells me before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. Her eyes open up like a butterfly's wings batting slowly before facing me. "Link, Aryll has become beautiful because she is loved."

I raise an eyebrow. "Hasn't Aryll always been loved?" I ask, wondering where in the Sacred Realm Gran is going with this.

"Yes, she has. But she's become even more beautiful than that. Do you know why?" She asks me. I shake my head. I still am confused with what the heck Gran is talking about.

"Hylians. No, _Hyruleans_," she corrects herself before continuing, "become beautiful as time goes on. Link, I have seen many things bloom in life, but I swear to the Holy Three Sisters, that there is nothing more beautiful than seeing love being made."

I stare at her; I still don't know what she's talking about. What in the Sacred Realm?

"Do you know what's so beautiful about a mother giving birth to her child? From the moment the child is born, the mother gives love straight to it. The mother just accepts the child easily for what it is and adores it till the end. But of course… that is just natural love for any sort of animal. Now, love. Love, Link. Love from someone else. Love from someone outside of your family. That's one of the most beautiful things in the world. Love makes you more beautiful. Think about it for a moment, Link. Someone who is not related to you by blood just loves you. You. You, an imperfect creature at heart, falls in love with another imperfect creature."

She takes another long breath, before looking at me. I stare into her eyes with wonder at her words, for I am amazed to see how much Gran knows. "Link. Let me ask you a few questions concerning Zelda and you."

"Okay," I respond hesitantly.

"What is it about Zelda that you love?"

"That innocent look on her face that she has when she's around me," I sigh. I close my eyes for a moment; I envision Zelda's face in my head. I smile. She's looking at me, pure, beautiful, and magnificent.

"Also the fact that she's into a lot of the same bands as me. I mean, she doesn't admit it. But I know she and I have similar music tastes. Oh, we also share some common movie interests as well. I mean, when I just _talk_ to her naturally, I feel like I'm talking to someone who I can just relate my feelings to. It's like we can read each other's minds and feelings really well. There's just this strange, wonderful connection I feel with her and it's amazing. I feel _complete_ around her."

I open my eyes as I exhale. I see Gran's gentle face smiling at me. I want to continue. I take another long breath, before I close my eyes again.

"Whenever I see her, I feel my heart racing and it also feels like my head is spinning. I see her, and sometimes my heart gets caught up in my mouth. I also feel as if there are some invisible strings tangling up my heart and body when I first talk to her. I naturally feel nervous when I'm around her. But all she has to do is just smile at me, and then… boom. It's as if she's cast a spell on me, and I can just talk to her."

I pause for a moment, as I open my eyes again and face Gran. A nervous feel creeps up around my body before I open my mouth once again.

"Is that love, Gran?"

Gran's face is filled with understanding. She just clears her throat. "Next question, Link. What is your ideal date with her?"

I blink a few times. I never really thought about where I'd take Zelda on a date, mainly because I just found it impossible for me to do so in the first place.

"Hmmmm," I say thoughtfully, considering the subject. "I don't know. Maybe a quiet, small bookstore. You know, just a place where we can read books to one another. Maybe drink some coffee, and talk about life. What our dreams are. Where will we would go in the future and how would we want to live. And even discuss about death. Maybe I'd tell her that I would be perfectly happy if she'd remarry. That is, if I ever married her and died."

I face Gran once again to see her reaction. I feel as if I've gone too far with my answering of her questions. Here I am, talking about the future and the complexes of life when I'm only a junior in Hyrule High! What sort of teenager does that? She still has that gentle, understanding look on her face.

"Final question," Gran says. I feel myself nervous with anticipation. "If you had to protect Zelda from anything…. Would you?"

I don't hesitate to answer that question. "Definitely. Even if I don't have guts now, I'll probably be sure to make sure that she's happy. I mean, I know that this whole idea of Zelda in love with me is impossible itself, but what the heck? I'd totally protect her and stuff. Even though I don't have courage."

Gran's smile widens. "I knew it," she comments softly.

"What?" I ask.

"You're hopelessly in love," she tells me. I blink a few times.

"What? No. Gran, I think I'm not. If I was, I would… yeah. I wouldn't be in this mess. And yeah. I don't think I'd be…"

Curses. Why in the Sacred Realm have I run out of words and explanations? Did Farore somehow curse my tongue to make sure that I can't argue against everyone today about Zelda? Gran just says nothing though.

"Link, you know what I think is funny?"

"What?"

"The fact that Colin Hollands confessed to Aryll that he liked her."

"So?"

"So… Don't you find it to be funny?"

"Eh, maybe. I don't really know Colin, so whatever."

Gran frowns at me. "How can you not know him? He lives down the street, Link! Anyways. Well, doesn't he strike you as a very timid boy?"

"Yeaaaaahhh… Well, maybe. As I said, I don't associate myself with him," I tell her, confused with where in Hyrule Gran is going with all of this.

"I think you should from now on."

"Oh yeah? Why?"

"Because he confessed to Aryll! Colin Hollands! That kid who always allowed himself to get bullied around by Malo, Talo, and Beth! That kid who always wet his pants when he was five because he was scared shitless of those kids. Yet, that kid... He somehow found it in himself to tell Aryll that he liked her. And here you are, Link. You say how you have no guts, and you're a natural chicken-wuss. The fact that I have to compare you to Colin Hollands is truly pathetic. You're a junior. He's a freshman. Juniors, by now, are supposed to realize one very important thing, Link."

She pauses as she uses this time to take a long breath. She looks me in the eye with importance as I listen closely.

"You can change your future. You can change yourself. You're not as a static person as you think. Hylians change. Hylians grow. Hylians are the beings of the world who can shape their own future. So what if Zelda is one the most popular girls in Hyrule High and you have no chance with her? You can _change_ that. The fact that you sit here, moping around, just shows that you really don't have a chance with her at all since you don't even _try._ You give me all of this bullshit about how she's out of your league and that's why you can't confess. When in reality, _you're_ out of _her_ league because you don't even try."

She pauses for a long while again as she takes this opportunity to take a long, deep breath before continuing:

"You know, when I first met your grandfather, he was just like you. He was just as much of a coward. However, he somehow found the way to work up the courage to ask me out on a date. Link, you can't really decide your own future before actually _making_ it happened. That's what your Grandfather Auru discovered, and he realized the only way he was going to get me was if he just worked up the courage to ask me. He knew that he would just take a risk even if the odds were against him. You never know what will happen," she teaches me, her eyes glowing in happiness. I feel my mouth open slightly at her words. I feel the need to say something right here and now, but Gran just continues.

"Link… I think that what you need to do is take control of your future now. You're still so childish and stubborn. I've watched you too many times just sat here, moping, and didn't do anything," she sighs heavily. "Goddesses. I feel like I've messed up when raising you, Link. I feel so ashamed of myself. I wanted to make sure that I wouldn't mess up when raising you and Aryll, especially since your father left you guys in my hands. You know what? You standing here and not doing anything is fine with me. You can just go back to your normal life. Link… All I wanted to do tonight was just to open your eyes a little. I wanted you to just wake up to the _real_ reality of the world, and not believe in your own made up reality. Good night, Link."

She yawns heavily as I can see dark circles beginning to form under her eyes. Just when I think she's going to leave the kitchen, she walks up to me, and puts her right hand on my cheek. I feel the skin of her hands like old, crinkled leaves from autumn. It feels dry, yet warm with affection. And I can't understand why…

"Link, I was going to give you something today. But I think I'd be better off keeping it to myself. Auru wouldn't have wanted you to have it if he knew you weren't going to put yourself together and become a man."

She takes her hand off of me, and exhales with despair. Her eyes look so forlorn and... I feel guilty. Gran is so old, yet I'm making her feel horrible. I hate that panging of guilt inside my body, clinging to my sides and a strong voice telling me that I should be sorry about whatever I did wrong. I bite the side of my cheek for a minute.

"Wait," I say. Gran stops in her tracks before turning off the kitchen lights.

"Yes, Link?"

"What were you going to give me? I'm curious to know, Gran," I state.

I know what I just said sounds cheesy and greedy, but I'm not greedy. I want to know what made Grandpa Auru a man. And Goddesses, it certainly wasn't a dildo or something because I doubt that Grandma would want to give something like that to me. I can already tell whatever Gran is talking about has a lot of precious value to Gran and Grandfather Auru.

"Actually, it's two things." She fiddles underneath the neckline of her white nightgown decorated with small, pink roses, before she fishes something out. She takes out a necklace that she was wearing. It's a golden pendant in the shape of a triangle, and there is rope-like texture to the thread looped on top of the golden triangle.

"Here," she says as she places the necklace in my left hand. "This was your grandfather's. It's supposed to resemble the Triforce of Courage in necklace form. Your Grandfather had this, and for the longest time when I was dating him, he believed that whenever he wore this necklace, the Goddess Farore bestowed him with great power to conquer any courageous challenges that faced his way."

I study the necklace designed as the Triforce of Courage with great scrutiny. It fits perfectly in my palm, large for a pendant, but it glows. For some reason, it feels warm. Maybe it was all due to Gran body heat passing to it, but I swear… I feel some warmness to it which just makes me feel confident. I don't know why.

"The second thing I wanted to give you was this photograph," she continues as she takes a photograph out of her breast pocket of her nightgown. "Here is a picture of your grandfather and I when we were younger."

I take the photograph from her hand as I observe the picture. Wherever this photo was taken at, it has gorgeous scenery. Grandfather Auru and Gran were at some flowery garden with a water fountain behind them. It looks… heavenly. The light is beaming on Gran's and Grandpa Auru's faces. They're young. They are young, pure, and in love. I can just see it. They are smiling at the camera with the happiest faces in all of Hyrule. They aren't old. I can clearly see that this was back when my Grandmother's hair was burning gold, and my Grandpa Auru's hair was a nice, healthy hay color similar to mine. Gran's eyes are gleaming with brightness, eyes clear and blue like the upper part of the Zora River. Grandfather Auru's eyes are looking fondly at my grandma, and his eyes are filled with desire. No, not sexual desire. Desire of love.

I think I finally understand what Gran means now. I think I know what she means when she says that Hylians become beautiful once they are loved. Gran is beautiful in this picture. Grandpa Auru looks handsome, if I dare say so. They are beautiful and happy. So this is what love does to you, huh?

I notice Gran is looking over my shoulder as she's looking at that photo I'm holding with so much longing. I know that she misses my grandfather. She truly does. She misses him because she loves him.

I face her as I say something, "Gran. I know this is going to sound weird. But Gran, you're still beautiful even though Grandpa isn't here. I think so. He still loves you after death. He still loves you, even though he's in the Sacred Realm now. I think he'll always love you, Gran."

I lay my eyes on Gran's eyes. Her eyes are still clear and blue like the ones in the photo. I see water forming up in her eyes; I think she is touched with what I just said. _"Gran is beautiful,"_ I say to myself again. She's beautiful because she still has someone to love. And that person still loves her no matter what. Her face is filled with wrinkles, her hair is white like the first layer of snow in the winter, and her fingers look diminished, shriveled up, but whoever said being old was ugly? Old age can be beautiful if people look past the looks and use true sight to see right into the heart. She lets out a little sob as she falls into my arms.

"Thank you, Link," she says as she sobs. I pat her head gently.

"Gran. You haven't failed. You have… succeeded," I finish off for her.

She still sobs in my arms, and I swear that she's ruining my vintage, rock band shirt, but who gives a damn? I love my Gran after all. She's my Gran!

"… Thank you… Thank you…" she repeats over and over again between her sobs. She continues to cry like a small child.

I have to thank Gran for all of this. Gran made me grow up a little. She made me open my eyes a little bit, and she was the one who shows me what true reality is. Now, I feel as if I can understand Hylian emotions a little bit more. I vow to myself as long as I live, I will make Zelda Harkinian feel beautiful because she is loved for who she is.

* * *

"ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS!?" They all scream.

I wince. I'm starting to regret taking Gran's lessons to heart now. Why do they all have to scream at me like this? It's not like I just told them that I'm actually gay or something.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" I explain before shifting my eyes from Saria to Lulu to Japas, and finally to Mikau.

"Well… Gosh, Link. I mean… Just, we never expected that you wanted to _sing_ today at the competition!" Lulu exclaims, completely baffled at the idea that I requested to sing the lead part of one of the songs we're performing.

"What? You think I'm a horrible singer?" I ask, offended.

"No, we don't think you're a horrible singer… We just haven't heard you sing, after all," Saria contributes as everyone else nods their heads.

"Yeah, Link. Dude, this is late, don't you think? I mean, if you _really_ wanted to sing for this Battle of the Bands competition, you would've told us earlier, right?" Japas asked, who is also surprised at the fact that I want to sing at our live performance.

"Well, it was a change of heart. I'm starting to do this whole thing where I actually take risks every now and then, guys."

Lulu and Saria grin at me. I can obviously tell that they are proud of the fact that I'm finally changing myself for once and being "brave". Mikau and Japas just give me a funny look as if I've just told them that I have a white monkey on my back.

"Erm… Okay, since I'm the leader I'll decide how well you sing," Mikau states. "Sing me a C major scale, dude."

I clear my throat as I open my mouth and begin to sing. Mikau makes a hand gesture telling me to start singing right now.

"Do re mi fa sol la ti do," I sing as Mikau makes another hand gesture, telling me to stop singing.

"Not bad," Mikau replies. He bites the side of his lip before considering the idea. "You know what? Nayru can take it. Okay. I'll let you sing "Sweet Child O' Mine". But if we don't get the 500 rupees for first place, I swear to the Goddesses that I'll kill you, Link. But erm, no pressure."

We all laugh at Mikau's little joke. "Alright, sure. Just be sure to not mess up the opening part. If you do, Lulu and I will neuter you and will find a way to impregnate you," I respond before I see Mikau's face turn red with horror at the idea.

"Ewwwwwww!!" Mikau says, imitating the high voices of the typical cheerleaders at Hyrule High. "You're nasty, Link!"

"Hey! You guys there! Stop fooling around! You guys are going to be on in a few minutes!" A student, backstage staff member yells at us.

"You ready?" Saria checks with a concerned look on her face. I smile confidently.

"Positive. I'm totally ready for this."

"If you're feeling squirm-ish, I'll gladly sing "Emergency" first, and then we can sing "Sweet Child O' Mine"," she offers politely.

Great. I do feel squirm-ish. Goddesses! I start to feel as if worms of fear are crawling around inside of me. No, Link. Be positive for once. Show Zelda what you're made out of! I clench my right fist as I grab my necklace with my dominant hand. I feel the replica of the Triforce of Courage necklace grow hot in my hand. I frown in determination. I am still young and can change myself.

"Yeah. Thanks, Saria. Let's do "Emergency" first, and then that song. Besides, I want to dedicate that song to a special someone," I say.

"Ooooohhhh!! Linkie-boy has a lover! I think I already know who it is!" Saria exclaims happily.

Oh Farore. Shoot me right now. Saria is already acting so obsessed with this. She busily flounces away in radiance, as she goes off and tells the rest of the gang about our plans. I nervously look behind the curtain, as I still watch the other band finish up their act. They are pretty good. They've made several mistakes throughout their performance, but nonetheless, they are pretty good. I look anxiously into the crowds to see if anyone familiar is there.

I spot Ruto sitting up front with the rest of our friends. She's secretly playing the Z-Hand Held Lite in the dark. I think she's probably bored with the whole performance of the band currently playing, and she doesn't want to bother watching them. She looks aggravated though as if she wants to kill whoever brought her to this competition. Of course, Midna is there. Her long, bright red hair split into an interesting ponytail over her chest. Her yellow eyes are shining brightly in the dark like a cat. She's sitting with Ilia, the cute, innocent blond. Ilia looks delighted at everyone's performance so far, and her hair is styled in the unusual, side sweep. Her bright green eyes are looking brightly at the lead guitarist as a lot of jocks are giving her hungry looks. Midna just glares at them to scare them off, and they cower back before they can even think about making a move. Mido is also sitting with them as he just sit back and covers his face with his hands when Midna starts cursing at the stupid jocks who are still trying to advance on Ilia. He's starting to pretend as if he doesn't know either one of them because he's clearly embarrassed at Midna's actions. Sheik and Roxas are watching the band perform on Ruto's side as they comment to each other from time to time about the band playing. It's official that the two are dating now. And I have to say, they make the cutest couple in the world.

The band strings out the last note, letting it reverberate across the auditorium and back to the stage. Everyone cheers and claps as if that was the best performance ever. Clearly, they haven't seen ours yet. They'll be in for one of the biggest shocks of their lives.

"Okay, now folks! We'll have our next band come up called the… Indigo-Go's. Huh, interesting name, right y'all?" the student announcer person says in the mic as the crowd cheers. I see Mido's face lighten up as he completely forgets the humiliating situation he is with Midna and Ilia. Roxas and Sheik also look anxious to see our performance as they grin at each other.

"This is it!" Lulu squeals in happiness as I can see that the Zora is not the least bit fazed at the fact that we are performing to the _whole_ freakin' school here at Hyrule High.

"Oh Goddesses," I begin to say.

"Let's get out!! We've totally gotta rock the stage, Link!" Saria exclaims. She literally drags me out from the curtains and onto the stage. I stare at the audience as I hear Mido whooping in the background and everyone clapping for us.

It's funny. Everyone always underestimates something simple and short like giving an oral presentation for your World History class. You think you'll just be fine because you have all the information that you want to say and you know that you're going to get a good grade. The worst thing that can happen to you is that you fart loudly or vomit on the podium while giving your oral presentation as opposed to speaking too fast or what not. Even if you have your speech memorized, you think that everything will be alright. Well, guess what. I completely underestimated this situation.

I'm standing in front of _hundreds_ of students at Hyrule High. They all are clapping at us, smiling, some of them are cheering, and some of them are just frowning as if we're the worst band in the world. And they haven't even heard us play yet! I feel myself wanting to run back stage. I can't deal with this. I'm just what I was like before. A natural born coward. Who was I kidding? Just because I have a shiny necklace doesn't mean I can't change myself. A hand rests on my shoulder, and I feel as if the shivering of my fears begins to evaporate.

"Link," Saria tells me. I look at her. Her face is filled with some sort of emotion. She seems to know what's exactly on my mind. "Link, don't worry about this. If you screw up… well, you screwed up. We won't hold anything against you. I believe in you, Link. And I'm sure that Zelda secretly does as well. She believes you can rock this performance and make her wish that you were hers. I know she does. I've seen the way she looks at you in the hallways when she thinks nobody is looking."

She smiles as soon as she sees my face turn hot. "Just do it, Link. You have it inside you. I know it."

She turns her back and picks up the mic as Lulu gets her drum sticks ready. Japas tests his bass guitar, and Mikau takes up his pick. She's right. I can do this. I have the Triforce of Courage around my neck after all. I feel the corners of my lip tugging upwards; I feel slightly more confident. I feel as if this was destiny. I was born to do this.

"Ready?" Saria mouths at me. I nod my head. And we begin to play.

"_I think we have an emergency… I think we have an emergency!_" Saria begins to scream in the microphone as I begin to play some hard riffs.

I close my eyes as I feel myself knowing everything. Yes. The fingerings, the notes, the beat, the rhythm. Everything. I know it all by heart. I've played this song so many times with Saria, Lulu, Mikau, and Japas. It's impossible for me to mess this up. Let the music carry me away for this performance, Farore.

Mikau breaks through with the solo on his guitar part, as I am sure to back him up and follow his lead.

"_And no one cares to talk about it… to talk about it! 'Cause I've seen love die way too many times. When it deserved to be alive!_"

I follow along, the notes and everything are in perfect harmony with Mikau's part and the last note finally ends. There is a long pause between the audience and us. All I can hear is a thousand students jeering and clapping their hands loudly. I open my eyes to see that a huge majority of the students are up on their feet and screaming at us. A smile cracks on my face. I can't believe it. They are cheering for _us_.

"Link!" Saria whispers to me from a few feet away. She steps to the side just to face me and I can see that her face is overjoyed with excitement. "They _like _us! They _like_ us!"

I grin back as I nod my head in agreement. Saria points her thumb towards the audience and makes a motion with her head. I stare at her, dumbfounded, with what she's trying to say.

"Zelda!" She hisses at me, sending me the final, clear message.

I feel my heart stop. I lift my head towards the audience, and surely, I can see Zelda there. She's sitting in the tenth row of the auditorium sitting next to Dirk Kendall. Her face is wild, and I can't help but notice that she looks happy. She's grinning at me, and I wonder whatever provoked her to finally smile at me like that. This is the first time she's ever smiled at me in public. Her face is radiant though. And Goddesses, who knew that this would feel so good? I note Dirk Kendall is sitting next to her, rolling his eyes, as if our performance sucked. Maybe he's jealous…

"Link! We gotta get ready for our next song!" another voice says behind me. I look behind me to see Lulu with an impatient look on her face as I finally realize that I've been zoning out for a while.

"Oh shit," I mutter to myself.

I hobble my way up towards the front near a microphone positioned on a stand as Saria begins to talk in the mic.

"Hey, kids! Thanks for the love you sent us for our performance of the song "Emergency" by Paramore. So now we're going to have an ultra-rare performance of Link Irving taking up the lead vocals of the song "Sweet Child O' Mine" by Guns N' Roses," the dark, greenhead girl announces proudly with a small grin.

I look back at Zelda's face, as I see her eyes widen with wonder. I also look at Mido, Ilia, Midna, Sheik, Roxas, and Ruto. Ruto almost drops her Z-Hand Held Lite as her head shoots up towards me. Midna stops swearing at the guys who were attempting to flirt with Ilia and just stares in awe at me. Mido also releases the hands covering his ears, presumably from the whole incident with Midna cursing at the jocks, and faces me as well. Sheik and Roxas act as if they've been turned into stone and gaze at me in astonishment. Ilia is the only one who is unfazed by this small announcement. She just grins confidently at me. Everyone, except Ilia, have the same shocked expression on their face. My eyes finally shift back to Zelda, and I notice the hopeful, determined look she's giving me. It's as if she's telling me that I can do this.

I smile at them. "This song I'm singing is actually dedicated to someone special in the crowds. I want her," I say as I take the opportunity to direct my eyes directly at Zelda, "to realize that she just needs be herself and everything will be fine. Alright, Saria, I'm ready if you're ready," I say in the mic while facing her. She grins as she takes up another microphone and nods at Mikau.

Mikau begins with the familiar, calm soft riff and I bob my head in sync with music. After counting the several measures of his part, I'm ready to shine and live.

"_She's got a smile that it seems to me, reminds me of childhood memories,_" I begin to sing as I see Ruto, Mido, Sheik, Roxas, and Midna loosen up a bit. I overhear Ilia say loudly to Midna: "Damn! Link is a good singer!"

"_Where everything was as fresh as the bright blue sky, now and then when I see her face. She takes me away to that special place, and if I'd stare too long… I'd probably break down and cry._"

I close my eyes, and it feels as if I'm floating in the air. It feels as if Farore as bestowed courage on me to just belt out the lyrics and gave me wings of life. I feel as if I've been touched with love and I feel invincible. I feel as if nobody can stop me with the way I want things to happen because of my youth.

"_Sweet child o' mine. Sweet love o' mine…_"

And with this being sung, my eyes dart at Zelda again. Her face tightens with shock to see me looking at her like that from the audience. I notice some of her fellow cheerleader friends, like Malon Lon, are whispering to her in her ear. I can see her flushing madly. She's turning so bright red that her face could become the next stop sign.

"_She's __got eyes of the bluest skies, as if they thought of rain. I hate to look into those eyes and see an ounce of pain. Her hair reminds me of a warm safe place, where as a child I'd hide. And pray for the thunder and the rain to quietly pass me by… Sweet child o' mine. Oh, sweet love o' mine,_" I continue to vocalize.

I still face Zelda, and I see that she's brought her knees up on the auditorium chair. She hugs them tightly, trying to hide the redness in her face. But it's no use. I can see her perfectly fine from up here on stage, and I know that she feels something for me. Dirk Kendall is absolutely burning in rage now. I notice the can of soda he was drinking earlier has been crushed in his right hand, and he's shaking with rage. Yep, completely jealous.

Mikau begins his solo and I can't help, but grin at him. The notes similar to one in a game or something fill the room with harmony. We both do a lot of soft rock head bobbing before his solo ends on his guitar. Saria finally picks up her mic, and sings the last verse with me.

"_Where do we go? Where do we go now? Where do we go? Sweet child o' miinnnnnnnnneeeeee_," we finalize together.

The last note bounces back from the amps of our guitars and the speakers to all four corners of the stage and back to us. I pull the mic away from my mouth as I close my eyes again and smile. It's done. Farore gave me the gift to sing today and I did it. From what I see, I've impressed and won the heart of Zelda Harkinian. The Queen Bee of Hyrule High.

* * *

"Hey!"

"Hey," I say with a grin.

"That was… awesome," Zelda hesitantly says as she pulls out all of her stuff for Trigonometry. For some reason, her voice sounds dim and not as lively as I expected. But maybe that's just because some of the freshmen are still on the computers at the school library. She doesn't want to act too friendly around me with them around.

I grin at her once more. "Thanks. I've worked really hard to make sure that every note and every beat was perfect."

"Yeaaah," she says quietly.

"Hmm? Zelda, what's wrong?"

"Oh. Nothing, Link. I think I've gone deaf after your performance!" she tells me casually. "All of those kids screaming in the auditorium after you performed… And the fact that the people who organized the event had to make people _scream_ about which band they wanted to win the competition was too much."

"Hah! Yeah, I know. But it was worth it though. Mikau was really happy once he saw that golden rupee given to us by Mr. Kendall," I explained with a smirk.

I couldn't help it. I felt absolutely wonderful now. Just now, I did the most kick-ass performance, and Goddesses… I ticked off Dirk Kendall! I've always wanted to piss that guy off! He had been a jerk to me so many fucking times to count, and I was able to easily piss that jerkface off with just dedicating a song to Zelda. Not to mention, seeing that look on her face… made me happy. There's that certain happiness that a lot of Hylians feel when they know they are able to please the person they love by doing something sweet for them.

"Yeah…" She replies a bit upset.

"What? What's wrong?"

"I… erm… Link. Can I… talk to you outside? Privately?"

"Sure. Okay. Let's go get you some vitamin water. I know what your favorite kind is. I'll buy for you as a treat!" I offer excitedly.

Zelda blushes again. Goddesses. Who knew that I had this much power over her? It makes me feel the head of control. I'm really starting to love Gran now. She's the one I gotta grovel to from now on. I shall now worship the holy wisdom of Gran. And to think that I didn't have courage all these years!

"Okay, let's go," she agrees as she grabs all of her stuff. She briskly saunters away from me before I even have time to react.

"Uh!" I being to say as I note that Zelda has already exited the library before I could even gather all my things. Goddesses. What is her problem? She seems so cold to me. I shrug it off though. Maybe she's just nervous or something... Or, maybe she wants to… Oh Goddesses. This is a stretch, but I have a feeling she will become true to herself now.

Quickly, I grab everything and stuff it in my murse (I find myself fond of calling my messenger bag that from now on), and follow Zelda. I have to seriously break out in a run just to catch up with her. Din, what the heck? Who knew that Zelda could speed walk so fast? She finally reaches the nearby vending machine at the side of a deserted hallway and faces me. I pop in a few rupees in the machine as the machine spits out two vitamin water bottles. Zelda slinks down with her back on the wall, and allows herself to simmer all the way down to the floor of the hallways.

"Here." I dangle the bottle of vitamin water over her head.

"Thanks," she responds as she takes the bottle, but she doesn't look at me.

Something is definitely up. Normally, it's common curtsey for Zelda to look at me when talking. But now… she doesn't bother to make eye contact. I sit down with her on her left side as she opens the bottle. She takes a long slurp.

"Is there something up?" I ask.

"No," Zelda lies. Or I think she's lying. Because I can see her face is obviously distressed. She places a hand on her forehead and sighs. This is rare. Zelda is the type who never shows her bad, grumpy side ever. She's always cheerful because she doesn't care since most of the time she acts as if she's a ditz. It is only when she's serious when she shows her true emotions.

For some reason though, I feel guilty again. I feel a heavy weight inside of me. I'm starting to regret every minute of the "Sweet Child O' Mine" performance and me dedicating that whole bit to Zelda. I'm starting to feel fear. That natural fear of when you dream of Twilight Ghost Rats climbing and clinging around you because you screwed up or something. I should just leave her.

"Okay. You know, Zelda, if you're feeling really upset, I'll see you around later."

I grab my stuff and walk past her, but her hand grabs my left hand before I can make another step.

"No. Link, I wanna talk to you."

Oh shit. She's probably pissed off or something. Goddesses. Maybe I pushed the limits in being "courageous" today. Shit, I feel so horrible about this. Zelda fiddles around with her thumbs for a bit before finally speaking.

"Dirk dumped me today."

My head rapidly turns towards her as I feel this huge amount of guilt lifted from my body. Thank the Goddesses! But then again, I should be feeling some sort of sympathy for her after all. I was kind of the reason why Dirk left her.

"Oh, well… That sucks," I say. I feel like shooting myself now for saying that. I say one the most obvious things any guy could say to the girl he likes. What in the Sacred Realm? Why can't I think of anything to say to comfort her. But, Zelda just shakes her head.

"Frankly, it sucks big time. I mean, I _liked_ Dirk. He was just… perfect, you know? But I mean, I got this feeling that he only wanted sex out of me. He'd always try to pressure me into doing that sort of thing. But I always said no."

"Mmm hmm," I say as I sip some vitamin water out of the bottle. I bow my head to show that I understand.

"Of course, I can't do that even if I wanted to. Mainly because my dad is already paranoid about me and this age for me now. He wants to make sure I don't screw up. He keeps on… pressuring me to look into Hyrule Institute of Technology. But I'm honestly not interested in that sort of university. Even if I had perfect grades, I still wouldn't want to go. He wants me to be perfect. But I'm not perfect. And Dirk... I mean, Dirk! He just left me. He just said to me after the Battle of the Band competition: 'Zelda, this is not working out.' And I asked him why, and he just said that it's obvious that I like someone else," Zelda's voice starts to break and she begins to cry.

Perhaps the Triforce of Courage pendant is making me more daring than usual, but I put an arm around Zelda's shoulders and pull her close. "It's alright. You weren't born to be perfect."

"But that doesn't change the fact that Dirk left me! What's worse is that I think he may be right! I do like this guy…"

Oh Goddesses. I feel my heart skip a beat. Did she just seriously imply what I think she is implying?

"But I can't like him like that!" She cries out before burying her face in her knees.

"Why not?"

"Because! He's different than me!"

"Just because he's different doesn't mean you should love him any less," I soothe, hoping to get her to spill the beans.

"And to top it all off, I'm talking to him right now!"

She gasps. She has unintentionally told me how she feels. She looks at me with a bewildered face, and I can't help but smile. Finally. She finally tells me how she feels for me. The truth. This is the real Zelda Harkinian I love. The type who can admit to me that she likes me more than a friend. This is the girl I've fallen for. She puts a hand over her mouth in regret, as tints of pink outline her face.

"I-uh," she begins to say. Her eyes shift nervously around a bit. I still grin at her. Nayru, I officially worship you for creating the concept of love.

"I like you too, Zelda," I finish for her.

And before she can even say anything else, I lean forward and kiss her. First, it's just short and gentle. But before I can fully pull my head away, she grabs my neck and wants more. Her gentle lips brush against mine, slowly and beautifully touching each other. She kisses me passionately, as if she's loved me all of her life. It feels as if nobody else is here, except for us. Time has stopped. When we finally part, she smiles. Goddesses. She looks at me with pleasant eyes, and to me, I can't even remind myself that she was crying a minute ago. She still looks absolutely gorgeous the way she is.

"Link, are you free this Saturday?" She asks as she wipes the tears with the back of her right hand.

"Yeah," I reply.

"Alright, okay. Where do you want to go? I mean, we can't go to the Lanayru Mall because-"

I frown. What in the Sacred Realm is Zelda talking about? "Why not?" I interrupt.

"Because we'd be seen in public."

"Isn't that obvious?"

"Yes, but, Link. We'd be seen in public by people who'd go to our school and they'd know of our relationship," she explains.

And as if a thunder bolt hit me, I feel something burning. I can't believe this. What the fuck is Zelda saying? What in the mother fucking Sacred Realm is with this girl? What am I to her? Some sort of play toy?

"… Link? Link, are you okay?" She asks nervously as she stares deeply into my eyes.

"No. No, I'm fucking not!" I shout at her. I jerkily stand up, and I feel my blood is just boiling with rage. I clench the bottle of vitamin water in my left hand. I can't believe her… Just after I confess to her, all she cares about is her mother fucking reputation.

"Why not?"

"Oh, why not?" I ask angrily. "Well, why the fuck do you think I'm not fine?"

"Link, I'm not a mind reader. If you want this to work with me, you're going to have to communicate with me, okay?"

I stare at her dumbly with what she's talking about. "Communicate? Oh, really? Communicate with you? That's just fucking great. How can I communicate with you, when you won't let me talk to you in public? How the fuck am I supposed to "communicate" with you whenever I want to talk to you, Zelda!?"

"Link, please don't make this situation more difficult than it already is," she tries to say calmly.

This girl seriously needs to get her own vision of "life" checked. I can't deal with this anymore. I feel as if words are rolling out of my tongue, and fuck, I don't care that I'm thinking with my emotions as opposed to my brain.

"Me? I'm the one who is making the situation more difficult than it already is!? Me!? You think I'M being difficult? Well, fuck that idea, Zelda, because it's YOU who is making the situation "more difficult than it already is"," I spit at her. I can't believe this after everything I wanted…

"Well, what do you expect me to do? I have a record in this school! Link, I know that I act like a bitch towards you on the outside, but you know the real me. I'm not like that. You know I'm not like that."

"How the fuck am I supposed to know who the "real" you is?"

"Because you've spent the last six months tutoring me for Goddesses' sake!"

"And all of those last six months, not once have you EVER accepted yourself?"

"Link, I-"

"Shut up, I don't want to hear it," I snap at her. "I can't believe you. You know, I always pitied myself because I was childish, stubborn, a dork, and a coward who never had the guts to tell you that I like you. But guess what? I changed. I grew. I understood that I can change myself and that I have more power than I think. But you! You. You haven't changed! You haven't grown. Look at you, Zelda! Look! You're a perfect, mother fucking example of a typical, average blonde ditz/slut! You drink, you party, and even you say that you're a virgin, you still don't get it! You allow yourself to be stereotyped by people just _so_ Goddesses-damned easily!"

"Link… Please, listen to me for once!" She pleads.

"No!" I shout forcefully. "Listen here, Zelda. Do you know why I fell for you? Because you had _ambition_ and you were smarter and wiser than all of your dopey, stupid fucking cheerleader friends you hung out with. You were able to break your own stereotype of being a popular, little bitch and you were able to show me that you were hardcore and shit.

"Look at my friends! The reason why I hang out with them is because they are not what they look like! Saria is ranked the third smartest student in our grade and she wears black every single day! Ruto goes a shopping spree at the latest fashion designer stores, gets a French manicure, gets her hair done every six weeks, but she still goes to GamePop every now and then, and buys all the game she wants. Not to mention, the lowest grade she got was a B last year. Mido, Mikau, and Japas are the head runners of the cross country team when everyone thinks of them as a lazy slackers in school. And Midna, Lulu, and Ilia all sing in Choir, do community service at a nursing home, and are able to go clubbing due to their fake IDs they have. And all of my friends are in the National Honors Society."

She hesitates for a moment, before speaking.

"And what about you, Link? What "stereotype" do you break that makes you not a dork?" She angrily questions, her voice shaking. "The last time I saw you outside of school, you were waiting in line at GamePop for the latest version of the Z-Cube!"

"Yeah? Well, do you wanna know something about me that you never knew? I go fishing every month! I fish, I hike every once in a while, I do archery, I photograph, and I fence. Did you ever know that? No. You wouldn't have ever expected me to go out and do some outdoor activities besides purchase games."

I pant heavily. I'm out of control. I'm a beast. I feel like I've transformed into a wild, grey wolf that has just gone on a rampage around Hyrule.

"I expected so much from you. I thought you would be more mature than this. I thought you'd be the one for me. I thought I could make you more beautiful than you already are by having me love you for the way you are. Popular Queen or not. You're still Zelda. And to me, you're a princess and you'll always be. You don't need all that glamour and fake identity to impress me. I just like the way you are."

I can't take it anymore. With that being said, I grab my murse and leave. I feel the Triforce of Courage necklace bouncing against my chest as I'm running away from the person I love. It feels as if it's burning against my chest. I can't bear to talk to her anymore. Goddesses. What have I done? Guilt wallows around me again. I feel the stinging of salty water in my eyes as now realize that I can never let myself be a part of Zelda's world if she continues to do this to herself.

* * *

I hate Valentine's Day. Single Awareness Day. (S.A.D.) It's a great way to remind me that I just confessed to a girl the other afternoon and now she's basically rejected my love. I hate all of those corny, flashy Valentine's Day cards hovering around the hallways left and right. Not to mention, I hate the fact that Saria is playing "cupid" today and sending out roses to every chick and guy in Hyrule and probably all the way to the Minish country.

"Cheer up, Link," Ruto tells me at my locker. I grumble at her. I'm NOT in a good mood today, Farore.

"Come on. Don't be so hard on yourself," Japas agrees. He wraps his arm around Ruto's waist as she smiles at him. "Even though I've now got Ruto, you shouldn't be so hard on yourself that you're single."

"Gee, thanks for making me feel better, Japas," I respond sarcastically. Ruto takes the liberty of now bonking Japas over the head with the red rose he gave her through student council.

"Ow! Ruto! What was that for?"

"Dude, we're supposed to be _helping_ Link. Not making him feel worse!" She snarls angry at him.

"Oh, okay. Got it, Mistress," he says with a bow. I shake my head at the two. It's only been an hour since Japas and Ruto got together and Ruto has already been demanding that Japas either refers to her as "Princess" or "Mistress".

"Anyways, guys, it's okay. I've decided to accept that I'm just… not going to ever be with Zelda," I say. "You guys better be off to class now."

"Okay, see you around, Link," Japas tells me with a nod.

"Don't feel too bad about the whole Zelda thing. I'm sure everything will be fine," Ruto comforts. She also gives me an understanding nod before taking Japas' hand and heading off the class.

I sigh as soon as they're out of sight and I glance into my locker mirror. I look at my face. Why did can't she just love me freely and accept me for who I am? What is it about me that she can't accept? Is it the way I look? I study my features… I have a decent face. My eyes are a nice shade of cobalt; my hair is somewhat long and shaggy, but not too bad. A lot of random girls have come up to me, saying that they love my hair. And to top it all off, I've got two, Sheikah earrings in my earlobes. I'm fairly attractive. Doesn't that satisfy Zelda Harkinian? I notice that everyone is all chatting lively and a lot of people are whispering, giggling, and laughing at each other. Curses. Why does Valentine's Day has to be such a loud, obnoxious chatty day?

"Hey, Link!" Saria's voice cries out in front of me. I look up.

"Oh. Hey, Saria."

"Oh my Goddesses, Link, you'll never guess what happened!"

"What?" I say in a mellow tone.

"Zelda. Dyed. Her. Hair!" She states ecstatically.

"Yeah, that's great to know… I'm sure it's really important to-... Wait, what!?" I ask.

"Zelda dyed her hair reddish-_brown_, Link!"

"That doesn't make sense," I exclaim, wondering what in the Sacred Realm got into Zelda.

"But it's true! I swear! Zelda has totally changed, Link! I mean… If you see her today, you'll know what I mean. She's dyed her hair, and I have to say… damn. She makes a pretty good brunette."

"Saria, if you're pulling my leg, I'm going to freakin' kill you."

"No no no!! I'm not lying! If you want me to prove it to you, turn around, and see for yourself!"

"Saria, why in the Sacred Realm do you wish me to do this?"

"Just DO it!"

Following her orders, I turn on my heel. Even though I don't wish to dare to look at Zelda, I will just the sake of Saria. My eyes scan around the hallways for a moment before I realize I don't see Zelda. I see a fairly pretty girl with hair, similar to what Saria described, walking down my path, but nothing else.

"What in the friggin' Sacred Realm are you talking about? I don't see Zelda!"

Saria takes this moment to gape at me. "She's right _there_, Link!" She practically screams at me as she points her finger at that fairly pretty girl.

It takes me more than a second to realize that Saria is right. It is Zelda. That fairly pretty girl who I saw earlier is Zelda. Oh Goddesses, how could have I been so blind!? She was standing right in front of me! But she… Zelda. Everything about her has changed. Her hair isn't that sunny shade of blonde anymore. It's just as Saria described. Reddish-brown, and... Goddesses! Is that an "I heart my Geek" T-shirt that she's wearing!? What the… oh my Goddesses. She's really has changed. She's wearing _sweatpants_. Nayru, Din, and Farore all know that Zelda _never_ wears sweatpants to school!

Though, I can't help but notice how naturally beautiful she looks now. Due to her hair dying, her blue eyes look more bright and clear like Gran's. Her looks paler and more delicate like a china doll's. She lets down her reddish-brown hair, giving her a nice, willowy slender appearance. Her hair is beautiful when down. Her face also looks smaller, but in a good way. The look on her face is not that airy, light-headed look that she gives. It's… well, mature. Her eyes are brimmed with determination of some sort, and anyone who sees her can tell her eyes have an ambitious look on them. She looks as if she wants to strive for excellence. And this is just all from her physical appearance.

I face back at Saria as she leans back on one the nearby, blue locker and smirks in delight at me. Clearly, she enjoys seeing Zelda dressed like this. It takes me a moment to realize that I'm not the only staring at Zelda. Everyone else notices this as well. Everyone in the hallways are all whispering, pointing, and some are even _laughing_ at the Queen of Hyrule High. They all see the way how she's dressed geek-like and not dressed in those clad clothes of fashion and popularity.

"Hey," she says to me as she finally reaches me.

I feel mouth hanging openly like a loose door on its hinges. I quickly close my mouth and shake myself back to normal.

"Heeeey, Zelda!" Saria interjects at her with an overly friendly voice. Zelda naturally smiles as she waves at her.

"Hi, Saria. Oh man, Link told me that you like The Three Swordsmen, right?"

Saria nods her head. "Yeah, I do. They are one of my favorite bands."

"Oh good! I recently got four tickets to one of their live shows in late April. I was thinking about having maybe you, Link, Mido, and I all go to see them in concert," Zelda says as Saria's eyes nearly pops out her sockets.

"Are you serious!?"

"Yeah. That is... if you'd like to come," Zelda says a bit hesitantly.

"What? Oh yeah! I'd totally love that! I think you and I would have an awesome time! I mean, I totally love the lead singer's voice. You know, Marth Lowell, right?"

Zelda smiles again. "I know! He's got such awesome, blue hair! He's so hot," she says dreamily.

"Oh my gosh! Heck yeah, he is! He's so dreamy! Same with Roy. I love that magic, fire trick he does in the live performances. Oh, did I ever tell you that a cousin of mine met Marth backstage?"

"What? This is legit, right Saria?"

"Yeah! Legit! It's totally legit! She said that he was really nice and shit!"

I gaze in bewilderment at the two girls. Saria and Zelda, who appeared to hate each other, are bonding about The Three Swordsmen's lead singer, Marth Lowell, in front of me. And they're acting as if they had been buds since seventh grade. Creepy. The world has totally gone nuts now that Zelda has shown off her "geekiness".

"Yeah, and-," Zelda begins to say before someone cuts her off.

"Hey, Zelda! Nice to know that you have the word "geek" written all over the ass! Maybe I should get one of those sweatpants as well!" A nearby jock makes fun of her.

All of his fellow jock friends start cracking up at his joke, pointing at her rear end and some of them are even waving their behinds around. I peer over to the side, as I realize that Zelda is wearing sweatpants with the blue letterings of: "GEEK" written on her butt. Before I can even take a breath, Zelda gives him a cold glare and shows off her pretty, middle finger.

"Shut the fuck up, Ganondorf! You know what? If you like it so much, how about I tell your parents about that girl you impregnated last summer?"

That shuts Ganondorf up. He stops laughing, and his whole face is starting to grow pink.

"You wouldn't!" He gasps as a few of his friends stare at him with disbelief. Zelda smirks evilly as if she knows what she's doing.

"Oh, I totally would, Ganondorf. Mainly because you had to have poor Nabooru go all the way to Gerudo Desert to give birth. You didn't use protection, now did you? Not to mention, you ruined her future. Do you know how cruel that is? Poor girl. She couldn't get an abortion because her parents wouldn't allow her," she comments to herself.

"Okay okay okay! Fine! I got it, Zelda! I'll leave you and your _friends_ alone!" He screams at her as he glares at us. Zelda faces me and grins happily.

"Wow," I say, breathless.

"Yeah," Saria agrees as she watches Ganondorf and his minions retreat back.

"That's how I take care of myself on the streets," the brunette explains as I stare back at her in awe.

"Anyways, Saria, if you don't mind, I wanted to take this opportunity to talk to Link."

"Oh, okay. Sorry, I just got caught up with what you were saying though, Zel."

"Ahah. Well, it's cool," Zelda, or Zel I should say, replies with another friendly grin.

"Bye then."

"Bye," Zelda and I both say.

"So," she faces me and looks me in the eye.

"Soo…" I say as I nervously look into her eyes. She smiles at me with that normal, friendly feeling that she from those tutoring sessions.

"Yesterday afternoon… After you left, I realized something," she begins to admit.

"Which is…?" I ask, hoping she will see what I was trying to get her to realize from yesterday.

"I look TOTALLY kick-ass as a brunette! I think brown hair suits me better than blonde! Except, what I love about this color is the fact that it's red as well! I've always envied girls with reddish-brown hair and how natural it looks on them. I'm glad to see that I was able to get this awesome hair dying kit included with eyebrow dye stuff for only forty-five rupees!" She enthusiastically states.

I feel like hitting myself over the head over and over again. Goddesses, what the heck did I get myself into? Is "Dumb, Stereotypical Blonde Zelda" still in her blood? I thought she'd learn her lesson by now. She probably gets the hint because she goes on:

"Actually, that's a lie. That's not what I wanted to talk about."

"Right, okay," I tell her.

"I wanted to say that I took the time yesterday, and as much as I didn't want to admit it… You were right. I was a fool. I mean, Goddesses damn it. My mom always wanted me to keep a high social reputation. I don't know why. Maybe it was because she was a loner in high school. But she always pressured me to do so. She taught me how to live life in two ways. One was that you'd be like a princess with everyone respecting you and fearing you at the same time. The other way was that you'd be the center of bullying, jokes, pranks, and shit. The other side just looks _scary_. I think even after she died, I still acted the way I was taught to. It hurts. It really hurts. It hurts at the fact that I have to wear tons of make up and live my life as a lie.

"I want to be _real._ Not fake, plastic, beautiful, and stupid. I thought being brilliant, geeky, nice, and mature would have been just a person who had no life would've acted. But… As I said before, you were right. Last night, I kept on thinking back to what you said. How you just wanted me. And the fact that I have been lying to myself all this time has just shown how much of a fool I was. I mean, I'm just such an idiot, right? All this time the life I wanted was right in front of me. The perfect grades, the perfect boyfriend, the perfect life. They all appear to be imperfect on the popular side. But, Goddesses, to me, they are perfect. I don't need that fame, glory, and all that shitty make-up on my face."

She pulls out something she's been hiding all this time. Goddesses. I really need to notice what people are doing today. "Here." She places a red rose in my hand with a note card attached to it.

"I like you, Link. Just the way you are. The real me… is here," I read from the card before looking at her with wilder. She genuinely smiles at me.

"I'm thinking about applying to Hyrule University next year. I know it'll be tough with my current grades, but with you by my side, maybe I'll be able to get in," she casually comments as I grin at her.

"I think that's an excellent choice for college. I'll be sure to help you every step," I promise to her before tucking a redwood-colored lock behind her ear. She looks at me fondly.

"Link, where do you want to go this Saturday?" She questions me with a smile on her face.

"Let's go to Lanayru Mall."

"A brilliant idea," she responds.

She extends her right hand at me. I look at it for a moment. I gaze back into her eyes and I know what she wants. I know what I want. After all this time… I can be free and love. Zelda is beautiful. And I know why. She's beautiful because I love her and I know she feels the same for me. Smiling, I take her hand and we walk to class together.

* * *

"Link, I fucking hate you," she reports to me. I can't help, but grin in glory.

"Oh really? Is it because I won against you in multiplayer of Live Free or Die Well?" I teasingly inquire.

"Shut up," she snaps. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Hah. Well, you were easy to defeat, let me tell you that."

"That's because I haven't played this game in a while!" She whines.

"So? This is a game, Zelda. Your skills don't get rusty unless you're hardcore."

"Oh, you think I'm not hardcore? Well, fuck you. I'll find a way to make sure that-"

A chime interrupts her at the perfect moment. "Doorbell!" I say cheerily as I get up and run to the front door.

"LINK!! WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A SERIOUS DISCUSSION ON HOW YOU WILL TREAT ME WHEN YOU GAME AGAINST ME! I DEMAND THAT I WIN EVERY SINGLE MATCH AGAINST YOU!" Zelda screams at me.

I roll my eyes at her as I pry the door wide open. "… Oh, hey."

"Heya, Link!" Saria says with Mido tagging along with her.

"What are you guys doing here?"

"Oh, well, Mido and I thought you and Zelda would be lonely here, so we decided to come and make you guys feel less lonely!" Saria excitedly reports as she just bustles her way in. Obviously, Saria just wants to find an excuse to hang out with Zelda more.

"Dude, what the fuck happened to the funnel cake?" I ask Mido when Saria is clear out of sight.

"Fuck the funnel cake. I have it right here," he says as he holds up a plate covered in foil paper. "She was happy, let me tell you that. But then she just said to me: 'Oh! Let's bring it to Link's place so we can eat it with Link and Zelda!' She refused to watch the movie with me."

"You've gotta be shitting me," I reply.

"Yeah, well… I'm standing at your front door, am I not?"

"Yo, Link!" I hear a voice call from across the street. Oh Goddesses, it's not…

"Mikau, stop yelling at Link like that. He can hear you perfectly fine. I feel like that you're deafening my left ear! You've been screaming all day!" Lulu angrily snaps at Mikau. He shrugs as he waves around some sort of red container shaped like a jug.

"Guess what, Link! I brought some fruit punch for your small get-together that you're having!"

"Mikau, I'm not having a get-" I begin to say, but I'm cut off.

"JAPAS, YOU WILL OPEN THE CAR DOOR FOR ME RIGHT NOW!" I hear another voice scream. Oh Farore. It's the one and only Ruto Atlantis. I peer my head through the door frame as I see Japas scurrying in the cold. He makes his way to open the car door for his new girlfriend. He has a nervous look plastered all over his face, and he opens the door for his girl.

"That took you long enough," she hastily comments as Japas' face shades a few tones down. "Hello Link! I heard you guys were having a party, so Japas and I brought you a box of chocolates!" Ruto holds up a heart-shaped box of chocolates, and I raise an eyebrow.

"I gave you those chocolates earlier today, Princess," Japas sniffles as he feels his love is being crushed.

"Oh hush! Chocolate tastes better once you eat it with your friends!" Ruto states happily.

"Goddesses. Why is everyone-" I start to comment.

"HEYA, PEOPLE!" Sheik merrily chimes. She grins as she holds up a box of Fun n' Dip candy. Her arm is linked around Roxas's, and they are both grinning in excitement.

"What the-?" I try to finish.

"Yo yo yo, what up, gangsters?" Roxas says with some sort of a fake gangster sign. He attempts to show off his "bling" which is apparently Sheik herself.

"Hi!" Ilia pops up along with Midna, both holding some sort of scented candles.

"Ilia, aren't you showing off too many cleavage? Did you notice that guy who was starting at your chest area when we walked by!?" Midna demands, pointing to her shirt. I admit, it's showing off too much cleavage. Why is Ilia wearing a halter during the winter season after all? Ilia just laughs it off as if it's some funny joke.

"Don't worry, nothing bad will happen. It's just natural hormones for the guy."

"Oh my Goddesses. Can this situation get any worse?" I wonder out loud to myself.

As everyone shoves their way past me, I hold my breath. I shut the door and rest my head against the door frame. A hand places itself on me.

"You okay?" I find myself face to face with my new girlfriend.

"Zelda, where did all of these people come from?"

"I invited them!"

"What?!"

"Well, this is my payback for you not being nice and not allowing me to win every single game in Live Free or Die Well," she explains. "Saria said the best way to get on your nerves is to invite everyone over to your house. I called all of them on my cell after the fifth round of Live Free or Die Well when you were in the bathroom."

"..."

"What? Link, don't tell me you hate me."

"I hate you, Zelda. But Goddesses, if you weren't so beautiful right now, I would just..." I lean over and whisper in her ear, "kiss you."

She smiles as she grabs the collar of my shirt and makes sure our lips meet.

"Sweet child o' mine," she sings to me when we part. I smile at her.

I take her hand as we both realize the future we have ahead of us. Together, we both with learn to grow beautifully. I look back at the pendant of the Triforce of Courage and smile at it. Because of Zelda and the Triforce I feel more confident. I don't believe that I'm a chicken-wuss anymore. I performed in front of all the students at Hyrule High, confessed that I like Zelda, and I don't feel any tension between her and I. Goddesses. What guy can't be happy over that? There is no commercial, fake love shit that goes on between Zelda and I. It's all real. I believe that I'm starting to like Valentine's Day after all…

* * *

_A/N: Feel free to tear this oneshot up with criticism. I don't mind it, especially since it was rushed for Valentine's Day. If you did like it... Well, please say it, because I'll be tempted to take this oneshot off the site every now and then. I hope everyone has a great day and enjoy eating lots and lots of chocolate. HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! :D I send love, chocolates, cookies, Godzilla, a giant fish in a teddy bear costume, huge lollipops, a toad, and sugar through this message. _

_Love,_

_-BKP _


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